ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The much anticipated visit by Kurdish President Masoud Barzani to the Iranian capital will take place in October, his first trip in 9 years to the neighboring country, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials told Rudaw Tuesday.
Barzani is expected to meet with senior Iranian officials including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei after strained relations between the two countries hit a low in May following Iranian Kurdish groups' resumption of armed campaign against the Islamic Republic. Tehran has in the past accused Kurdistan Region of harboring Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.
Iran officially invited Barzani to visit Tehran earlier this year.
"The visit is important and the president was invited some time ago. He was planning to make the trip at an appropriate time and I think this month is appropriate for the visit," said Abdulla Akrei who is a KRG coordinator to Iran.
Akrei said a range of issues will be on the table as Barzani meets Iranian officials, including the Kurdish independence referendum and the ongoing political impasse in Baghdad with several ministers removed from office by the parliament.
"The president will bring up the Kurdish independence (from Iraq), as he has done elsewhere, and I think Iran will not oppose the Kurdish people and won't be a hinder," Akrei said.
Iran is a major regional player with considerable influence in Iraq. Tehran has also been actively supporting Shiite militias in the country against the ISIS militants.
Tehran has in the past offered the KRG to export its oil through the Iranian pipeline to the Persian Gulf where it could be delivered to international buyers. Negotiations on constructing a second Kurdish pipeline which would connect the existing Kurdish pipeline to the Iranian network are ongoing.
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