Barzani Assures Iranian Officials: Iraqi Kurdistan Poses No Threat to Iran
Nechirvan Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, emphasized that the region will not serve as a "source of threat" to Iran. He highlighted substantial measures that have been implemented to ensure the security of the shared borders between the two territories.
Barzani delivered his comments at the Tehran Dialogue Forum (TDF), hosted at the Institute for Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran on Sunday.
He stated that a fundamental principle is to ensure the Kurdistan Region does not serve as a platform for posing threats to neighboring countries, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Barzani announced that during a meeting in Tehran yesterday, there was a consensus acknowledging significant progress in security matters. He emphasized that the Kurdistan Region has never been, nor will it become, a security threat to the Islamic Republic.
He highlighted Iran’s role as one of the initial nations to assist Iraq in the battle against the Daesh terrorist organization, emphasizing, “We have explicitly stated that the relationship between Iran and the Kurdistan Region is strong.”
Barzani emphasized that following Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Erbil in Iraq, there has been a notable enhancement and growth in the bilateral relations across various sectors.
An expert-level meeting is slated to take place shortly in the northwestern Iranian city of Sanandaj, according to recent reports.
In March 2023, Iran and Iraq formalized a security agreement in Baghdad aimed at enhancing coordination for safeguarding their mutual border.
A recent security agreement mandates the full disarmament and relocation of the anti-Iran terrorist organizations situated in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.
Iranian authorities have consistently stated their expectation that both the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government will take measures to prevent Israel and any anti-Iranian forces from utilizing the semi-autonomous region against the Islamic Republic.
In May of the previous year, Barzani affirmed that the Kurdistan Regional Government considers its cooperation with Iran to be a fundamental principle that will not be compromised.
