Nechirvan Barzani: No communication with Iran after the bombing, and the Labor Party is “our big pro

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[size=52]Nechirvan Barzani: No communication with Iran after the bombing, and the Labor Party is “our big problem”[/size]

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02-21-2024
The President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, revealed today, Wednesday, the lack of communication between the region and the Iranian side after the recent missile strike in Erbil, indicating that Tehran’s conviction that there are Israeli headquarters in the region proves the necessity of a comprehensive change of its intelligence services, while he stressed that the Party Workers are a “big problem” for the region and Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Nechirvan Barzani said in an interview with Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels, “Our relations with Iran are old, and Iran is an important neighbor for us, and we cannot eliminate this geography.”[/size]
[size=45]He added regarding the Iranian bombing of the region, “Let us talk about our relations with Iran before this incident. We believed that our relations with Iran were very good. From an economic standpoint, if we look at the numbers, we find that the numbers economically and commercially were rising, and for the second year in a row we were in the Kurdistan Region allowing visitors.” Those who go to Karbala and Najaf to cross through the Kurdistan Region, and in terms of the security file, we have had excellent development with Iran, and when I say “we,” I mean Iraq and the Kurdistan Region together.”[/size]
[size=45]The head of the region stated, “Therefore, Iran is an important neighbor for us, but the question is, can you call targeting a civilian home with a cruise missile friendship?” How can this be described, under the pretext that it was an Israeli headquarters, to bomb a civilian house inside Erbil and kill three or four people as martyrs, including a little girl? This behavior cannot be included in the category of friendship. Otherwise, we have always tried and are trying to be a factor of security and stability in the region, and this is how we were with Iran in the past. We are not a source of threat against Iran, as our relations with it are historical and ancient.”[/size]
[size=45]Nechirvan Barzani raised a question by saying, “Why did the Republic of Iran behave this way toward Erbil at a time when we consider Iran an important neighbor and consider it our friend? We previously saw that it was our friend. Why did it do that?” This is very questionable!”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the presence of Israeli headquarters in the region, Barzani explained, “With regard to foreign policy, we are committed to the policy of Iraq as a state. When Iraq adopts any form of foreign policy, the Kurdistan Region acts within the framework of this policy and is not far from Baghdad or other than it.” We do not have any relations and there is no Mossad headquarters in Erbil. These are all pretexts, and what Iran did as a neighbor of Iraq and which supposedly considers itself a friend, was the greatest violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, saying, “If the Iranians actually had information proving that this site was a Mossad headquarters, they could have acted differently.” They could have, albeit without referring to the Kurdistan Region, approached Baghdad and handed over to Baghdad the evidence they had proving that that site was an Israeli headquarters and at the same time demanded a joint investigation. Iran could have done this.”[/size]
[size=45]The President of the Kurdistan Region added, “I defiantly assert that there is no headquarters for the Mossad or Israel in Erbil. In the past, there was a lot of talk about such matters regarding the Kurdistan Region, and the Kurdistan Region was portrayed as Israel.” Why is Israel? Why not Palestine and why not Israel? Our rights are violated and we are deprived of our rights and entitlements, so why is the Kurdistan Region not like Palestine?”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the reason for Iran directing these strikes on the region, the head of the region explained by saying, “I do not find any explanation for that other than the fact that they have missiles and they can bomb us and they are doing that. Otherwise, there is no justification for that nor any evidence to justify that, and if the Iranians had information that this site was... As the Mossad’s headquarters, this is a major disaster for the Iranian intelligence establishment, and they must reconsider all their security institutions.”[/size]
[size=45]Barzani mentioned an incident that brought him together with Qassem Soleimani in this regard, indicating that “in the past, and during the days of Qasem Soleimani, these same problems existed. One time he came to me and a group of people affiliated with the Iranian intelligence institutions were with him and they said: The information of our intelligence institutions says that you are somewhere.” Inside Kurdistan is a listening center for Iran! So I said to him directly: General, while we are now sitting here, let those who claim this go immediately and investigate it and confirm whether this is true or not? And in fact they did so and it turned out that it had no basis in truth. This time too, we were able to solve these problems in the same way.”[/size]
[size=45]Barzani returned to the question by saying, “The question that raises our astonishment and amazement is why did Iran do that?” We do not know the reason yet, but we are absolutely certain that there was no Israeli headquarters nor any Israeli person.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding communication between the region and the Iranian side after the missile strike, the head of the region explained, “We did not communicate, but the head of the Iranian National Security Institution visited Baghdad and spoke with the Prime Minister and with the Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji, but as in the Kurdistan Region, there was no communication between us.”[/size]
[size=45]The relationship with Türkiye and the Labor Party[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the existence of an arrangement between Erbil and Ankara when Turkey directs any strikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in the region, Barzani explained that “the Workers’ Party is a big headache for the Kurdistan Region and for Iraq as well.” These people do not give any weight to the legitimate institutions of the Kurdistan Region and threaten Turkey from our lands, while we completely reject the principle of turning the lands of the Kurdistan Region into a source of threat to our neighbors, whether this neighbor is Turkey or Iran.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The opponents of these countries cannot make the Kurdistan Region a safe area to create problems for these countries. It is very unfortunate that the Workers' Party (PKK) plays a very negative role in this context and uses the mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region and tries to create problems for Turkey." This is absolutely unacceptable on our part.”[/size]
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