In a bid to improve the strained ties, KRG prime minister met with Iran’s high ranking officials

Tabnak – Ankara’s military operation in north-western Syria against Kurdish militant groups has caused the Kurdish issue to once again come under the spotlight. Meanwhile, Iran hosted Iraqi Kurdistan’s prime minister, declaring support for the Kurdish rights under Iraq’s constitution. 

During his two-day visit to Tehran, Prime Minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani met with high ranking Iranian officials, discussing the issues of bilateral ties as well as the situation in the region. 

At a Sunday meeting with Barzani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said “all regional countries and ethnicities are duty-bound to defend a federal administration [in Iraq] and help secure border demarcations in the region.”

Saying that Iran invariably backs a “united and integrated” Iraq, Rouhani warned against attempts by certain foreign powers to deal a blow to regional stability and security. “Indisputably, extra-regional powers and forces do not and will not feel any sympathy for people of the region,” said the Iranian chief executive.

Barzani, in turn, said that Iraqi Kurds want a “unified Iraq,” agreeing all sides should remain committed to the Arab country’s constitution and pursue their demands through legal channels.

Earlier in the day, the senior Kurdish official sat down for talks with Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani. At the meeting, Shamkhani said Iran would do all in its power to remove the obstacles standing in the way of negotiations between the central government and Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

In his turn, the Kurdish official highlighted Iran’s crucial support for Iraq’s Kurdistan and its people at the height of ISIS’ terror campaign, saying ill-wishers will fail in their attempts to hinder the enhancement of Tehran-Erbil relations.

On Monday, Barzani had a meeting with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Saying that the security of the Iraqi Kurdistan is "very important" to the Islamic Republic, Larijani called on the semi-autonomous region to resolve its issues in cooperation with the central government in Baghdad.

"We have had and will continue to have a close relationship with our Kurdish brothers," Larijani told Barzani. Larijani said the events which transpired recently in the Kurdistan region were "not in the interest of our Kurdish brothers," adding outstanding issues should be resolved with prudence and the help of the central government in Baghdad.  

It should be noted that People in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq voted for independence on September 25 amid rising tensions and international opposition. The referendum set off a chain of events, culminating in a military confrontation between Erbil and Baghdad.

Analysts believe that the decision to hold the referendum in the face of near-universal condemnation was a colossal miscalculation, saying the former president of the KRG, Masoud Barzani, has undermined his legitimacy. In October, the KRG announced it was prepared to freeze the results of the referendum.