Talibani’s Advisor: Independence Referendum in Kurdistan A Plot Hatched by Certain Arab States

“Massoud Barzani insists on holding a referendum to grow independent from Iraq and certain (Persian) Gulf littoral states have provoked him,” Wafiq al-Samerayee said on Saturday.

He warned the Arab people in Iraq not to unite with Barzani at all, warning that such a move would be an unforgivable mistake.

Al-Samerayee also warned that the neighboring countries will also show a serious reaction to the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s decision for independence.

Iraq’s Kurdish region on Wednesday announced it would hold a referendum on independence, in a move the central government in Baghdad is likely to oppose strongly.

“I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, Sept. 25, 2017,” Barzani said on Twitter.

Barzani’s assistant Hemin Hawrami tweeted that voting would take place in the disputed region of Kirkuk and three other areas also claimed by the central government; Makhmour in the north, Sinjar in the northwest and Khanaqin in the east.