The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s spokesperson expressed Erbil’s desire for cordial relations with Iran and its opposition to armed groups that threaten neighboring states, stressing that the KRG government does not allow such groups to use its territory for moves against Iran or Turkey.
In an interview with Tasnim News Agency, KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee expressed Erbil’s views on the recent political developments in Iraq and on relations with the neighboring countries.
Asked about cases of hostile activity against Iranian forces by militant groups from the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Dizayee said such groups are “not a product of the birth of the KRG and existed in Iraq under the rule of the ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.” The existence of the anti-Iran groups should not imply KRG support for them, he explained, underlining that a joint Iran-KRG commission has taken effective measures against the rebels.
“We have warned the (armed) groups that they cannot use Iraqi Kurdistan region [for moves] against our neighbors, namely Iran and Turkey,” the spokesman said. Last week, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps dismantled three terror groups trying to infiltrate into the country in separate operations, killing several infiltrators in the Oshnavieh and Sarvabad border areas in the Kurdestan region in northwest Iran.
During the security operations, caches of weapons and equipment were confiscated.
Pointing to the cultural commonalities between Iran and the KRG and the common border, Dizayee said that differences and disagreements exist in and among neighbors but should not undermine cordial bilateral ties. “Erbil attaches special value to its relations with the people and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he told the news agency.
Expanding trade with Iran is high on the agenda of the KRG government, he concluded.
