President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nechirvan Barzani says the semi-autonomous region will never become a platform for threats against Iran.
Barzani made the remarks on Monday as he paid a visit to the Iranian Consulate General in Kurdistan’s capital of Erbil to offer his condolences to the Iranian people and leadership over last week’s terrorist attacks that killed at least 90 people in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman.
“We have repeatedly said and today we reiterate once again that we will never be a source of threat for any of our neighbors especially the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
Iran and Iraq signed a major security pact in March under which Baghdad pledged to root out terrorist activities aimed at the Iranian territory from Kurdistan where anti-Iran groups have been operating in recent years.
Iranian authorities have urged officials in the central government in Baghdad and Kurdish officials to do more to ensure that the terrorists and their bases are completely relocated form areas near the Iranian border.
Barzani told officials in the Iranian Consulate in Erbil that there was a need for increased cooperation in the region to root out terrorism.
He also appreciated Iran’s assistance to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in their fight against Daesh terrorists in recent years.
“Iran helped Iraq and the Kurdistan region a lot at the time Daesh emerged and increased its power,” said Barzani.
Daesh claimed responsibility for the twin blasts that rocked a crowded memorial service held on January 3 in Kerman for Qassem Soleimani, the late Iranian general who was killed four years ago in a US drone strike near Baghdad’s main airport.
