Iran is reinforcing its military on the border with Iraq adjacent to the Kurdistan autonomous region with armored unites, the commander of IRGC ground forces announced Friday.

Mohammad Pakpour emphasized that reinforcing border troops is meant to prevent “infiltration by teams of Kurdish parties based in Iraqi Kurdistan.”

Iran has deployed military firepower against Iranian Kurdish civilian protesters in western Iran, killing at least 12 people since November 16. It has also repeatedly shelled bases of Iranian Kurdishinsurgent groups in Iraq, portraying the popular protests as a separatist movement.

Iran International reported earlier that Iran was sending troops to its Kurdish-majority regions. It is not clear if these reinforcements will be used against civilian protesters or are solely meant to intimidate Kurdish groups in Iraq, that have so far stayed out of the popular protests in Iran and there have been no signs of separatist agitation.

The Iraqi government that has protested Iranian missile attacks on its soil, decided Thursday to work on a plan to boost its own border troops. A member of the Iraqi parliament, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Iran International that Kurdish lawmakers have been putting pressure on the central government to act.

Pakpour said that armor and “special units of ground forces” is being dispatched to the Iraqi border.

Mohammad Esmail Kowsari, a former IRGC commander and currently a member of the Islamic Republic parliament, also confirmed that military units were being dispatched to deal with Kurdish insurgents in Iraq.