KRG referendum favors Israel in expanding insecurity in region
Mehr News – Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, pointing to Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum, said “this is in the interest of Israel and those who want to expand insecurity in the region.”
Speaking among reporters on the sidelines of a local ceremony on Tuesday, Rezaei underlined Kurdistan needs security, development and progress; any kind of conflict would lags them from peace and progress. Pointing to the outcomes of KRG referendum in the region, former IRGC General Rezaei said the region may face insecurity which would lead to Israel’s ill-treatment.
In response to the question on the Islamic Republic’s approach to the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan, he said, “we must preserve the territorial integrity of countries and prevent the change of geographical boundaries.”
An assistant professor at the Bursa Technical University, Nouri Korkmaz, believes that Washington’s condemnation of the independence referendum is disingenuous. “What are they doing to prevent it?” Korkmaz asks. “We see statements asking Barzani to halt the referendum but on the other side we see senators and congressmen asking Turkey why it opposes an independent Kurdistan.”
For his part, the managing editor at Veterans Today, Jim W. Dean, pointed out that Erbil is highly vulnerable to unprecedented economic pressure, and will likely suffer if Iran, Turkey and Baghdad were to cut off Kurdish oil exports.
“They [the Kurds] had to know this and anticipate this,” Dean explains. “Someone is behind them and has guaranteed to write a cheque to tie them over economically if their oil exports are cut off and, also if their imports are cut off.”
“The only ones who can do that are the Saudis, ‘Israelis’ and the US,” he added. Although the KRG is likely to approve the referendum, the non-binding vote is not expected to result in an immediate formal declaration of independence.
With such heavyweights standing in Barzani’s shadow, however, the Kurdish leader may well not be calling the shots when it comes to the effort to escalate tensions.
