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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - It is ‘important” for the Kurdistan Region and the Islamic Republic of Iran to strengthen their ties and seek deep understanding when resolving their disagreements, an analyst at an Iranian state-owned think tank said last week.
Khalil Shirgholami, Vice President for the Institute of Political and International Studies, a think tank based in Tehran and linked to the Iranian foreign ministry, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Thursday that Erbil and Baghdad have strong ties which are tarred by “minor disagreements.”
“It is important to highly value this relationship… and to try to strengthen ties in different aspects, including deeper understanding from each other because understanding is the essence of interaction and essence of cooperation,” he said during the interview which was aired on Tuesday.
Kurdistan Region and Iran have enjoyed good relations in the past but Tehran’s attacks on exiled Kurdish groups and alleged bases of Mossad in the Region have caused temporary wars of words between them.
In January, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ten ballistic missiles at what it alleged was a Mossad base in the family home of Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee. Dizayee, his baby daughter Zhina, businessman Karam Mikhail, and a Filipina housekeeper, Michelle, were killed in the attack.
Huge demonstrations were held at the time, with many calling for the boycotting of Iranian products. The attack was internationally condemned.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has categorically denied the existence of Israeli intelligence bases in the Kurdistan Region.
Regarding the presence of exiled Kurdish armed groups, Shirgholami said he is “quite confident” that Erbil and Tehran will find a solution for the issue. “Maybe we have different interpretations.”
A security pact signed between Iran and Iraq last March last year saw Baghdad agree to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. Iran had threatened to use military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement. In September, Baghdad announced that it had disarmed the exiled Kurdish groups on the border and that offices previously used by the groups had been evacuated.
There are several border crossings between Erbil and Tehran, whose operations have mostly not been affected by tensions.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said at a forum in Sulaimani last week that Iran contributed to the economic “success” of the Kurdistan Region.
“In this endeavor, our friends in the region, particularly Turkey and Iran, have played a crucial role in fostering economic partnership and facilitating our progress,” he added.
Shirgholami praised President Barzani for his speech, noting that “we perceive him as a very important voice of wisdom in Kurdistan and the whole Iraq.”
“His character, his wisdom, his very important and amazing sense of human[ity] is really impressive. And I would like to also emphazie that in Iraq we know Mr. Barzani in a very very positive manner. Among the public opinion of Iran and among the politicians he is so much popular,” added the analyst.
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