Iraqi Kurds’ Planned Referendum to Create New Crisis: Iranian Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A special aide to Iran’s parliament speaker warned against the consequences of a planned independence referendum in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, saying it would give rise to a new crisis in the Arab country.
Speaking at a meeting with a diplomatic advisor to the French president in Tehran on Tuesday, Hossein Amir Abdollahian underlined that Iran attaches significance to France’s stance on the necessity of maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq and avoiding separatist moves.
Holding the planned referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan will not help resolve problems but will rather create a new crisis in the country, he said.
This is particularly so because emergence of disputes in Iraq will provide a new opportunity for the spread of terrorism, Amir Abdollahian went on to say.
The French advisor, for his part, underlined that Paris supports measures to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and adherence to its constitution.
Officials in Iraq’s Kurdish Region have said the northern territory would hold the independence referendum on September 25.
Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), announced the vote on Twitter on June 7.
It is planned to be held in the three governorates that make up the Kurdish region and in the areas that are disputed by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments but are currently under Kurdish military control.
The disputed areas include the key oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Iran has voiced opposition to the plan, reiterating its policy of supporting Iraq’s territorial integrity.