ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A high level delegation of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by the party’s deputy secretary general Barham Salih is in the Iranian capital Tehran to discuss the war against the Islamic State (ISIS), political deadlock in the Kurdistan Region and PUK’s relationship with neighboring Iran, party officials said.
“Iraq and Kurdistan are going through a lot of events and apart from recapturing Mosul, what is important for Iran is the relationship between Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and the central government,” Dana Saeed Sofi, a senior PUK member told Rudaw. “Iran is a central character regarding these subjects, and they will be discussed by the PUK team in Tehran.”
According to Sofi, an agreement signed between the PUK and the Change Movement (Gorran) in May would also be a topic of discussion between the Kurdish delegation and their Iranian hosts.
“The agreement between Gorran and PUK is very important for Iran and is one of the topics that will be discussed,” he said. “Iran wants to know if the agreement really is doable, how the country can make the agreement easier for them and how it can participate in the discussions between them.”
Sofi argued that the PUK and Gorran being in one alliance will make it easier for Tehran to deal with them since they both enjoy good ties with the Islamic republic.
“From being two separate parties with different views and different collaboration with Iran, they are now working together and have set aside their differences,” he explained.
Salih led the delegation to Iran on an official invitation from Tehran, his party reported.
A PUK official told Rudaw on condition of anonymity that in the meetings the PUK and Iranians will tackle the issue of soured ties between Erbil and the central government of Iraq as well as a visit to Sulaimani by former Iraqi PM and Iranian ally Nouri al-Maliki last month.
Iran is believed to want PUK leaders stay close to Baghdad and maintain their involvement in the Iraqi government and politics. Fuad Masum, a veteran PUK member is the president of Iraq.
Nazm Dabagh, the Kurdish government representative in Teheran said that the topics of the meeting would be economic, political and military.
Dabagh went on to say that the PUK delegation visiting Iran is normal and that a big issue should not be made of it especially that “all other parties maintain ties with and visit Iran.”
The Kurdish President Masoud Barzani is also said to have a standing invitation to visit Tehran as was delivered to him through Iran’s Minister of National Security in May. However, it remains unclear if and when Barzani will visit the neighboring country, said Dabagh.
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