Erbil: Iranian delegation visits Kurdistan Region’s Harir Airport; no Israelis there

According to Kurd Press, citing Middle East News, Osman said in an interview with Russia Today that Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, has made extensive contacts with Washington and Tehran and has emphasized during these contacts that the Kurdistan Region is not a party to the conflict between the two countries. He added that these diplomatic moves have helped reduce attacks targeting the region’s territory.

He explained that the Kurdistan Region is part of Iraq and abides by the country’s laws.Emphasizing that Iraq has no diplomatic relations with Israel, Othman also denied the existence of military bases affiliated with the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, inside the region.

Othman revealed that an Iranian delegation had visited Harir Airport in Erbil and had been informed about the location. According to him, the delegation had ensured that there was no Israeli military base at the airport.

Regarding the Iranian Kurdish opposition, the head of the office of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government explained that the presence of a large part of these groups in the region dates back to the era of the previous Iraqi regime. He added that this group includes armed groups as well as groups of refugees, and there are no exact statistics on their number.

He pointed out that these groups do not have military camps in the conventional sense, but they maintain military positions and light weapons.According to Othman, consultations and joint committees between Baghdad and Tehran have led to the withdrawal of opposition positions from border areas and their transfer to areas deep inside the region, about 40 kilometers from the borders.

He added that Nechirvan Barzani has announced to Iranian opposition parties on various occasions that using the territory of the Kurdistan Region to carry out attacks against neighboring countries is not permitted.

Regarding the mutual accusations regarding Iranian support for the opposition, Othman said that the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is facing a complicated situation; as Tehran accuses the region of harboring opposition groups, while Washington has accused it of not handing over weapons to these groups.He explicitly denied that the authorities of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region had received any American weapons with the aim of delivering them to the Iranian opposition, and stressed that the claim that Washington had sent weapons to the region for delivery to these groups had no basis and that the region was not on either side in this matter.

On another issue, Osman expressed hope that the peace process between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party would continue. He emphasized that the Presidency of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is ready to continue its mediating role between the two sides and support efforts to end the conflict.

He also announced an agreement to integrate forces from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) into the Iraqi police in Sinjar County.

In the economic sector, Osman acknowledged that the US-Iran war had had negative effects on the Iraqi economy and its consequences had spread to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, especially in the oil sector.