Larijani: Referendum Would Harm Kurdish Interests

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Iraq's central government and its neighboring countries, including Iran, are strongly opposed to a unilateral plan by the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region to hold an independence referendum. "I believe that holding the referendum in Iraq's Kurdistan region would be to the detriment of the people," Larijani said in a televised program on Sunday evening, Tasnim News Agency reported. "Not only the Iraqi people and government, but also Iraq's neighbors have expressed opposition to the referendum in the Kurdistan region," he added. Larijani emphasized that the move could create problems, including economic losses, for the country in future. Officials in Iraq's Kurdistan have said the northern territory would hold the independence referendum on Sept. 25. Iraqi parliamentarians have rejected the legitimacy of the vote and the central government in Baghdad has said it will do everything possible to preserve the unity of the country.