ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday told Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani that Iran seeks to expand economic and security ties with the Sulaimani region during the Kurdish leader’s meetings with senior officials in Tehran.
Araghchi emphasized the “extensive capacities available in the border areas of the two countries” and described the prospects for relations between Iran and Iraq, “particularly with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region” as “bright and promising,” according to Tasnim News Agency, an outlet affiliated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Araghchi underscored Iran’s readiness to “strengthen and expand ties with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, especially Sulaimani, by focusing on increasing economic and trade exchange, enhanced security coordination along shared borders, and combating terrorism.”
The remarks follow Talabani’s meeting with Araghchi on Tuesday amid successive meetings with Iran’s senior leadership.
Araghchi reportedly emphasized strengthening border security in relation to “certain terrorist activities,” in a reference to Iranian Kurdish opposition parties based in the Kurdistan Region, which relocated from Iran to the Kurdistan Region in the late 1980s.
Araghchi called on "Kurdish friends and all regional countries" to "remain vigilant against ‘false flag’ ploys designed to sow discord among neighbors," according to Tasnim.
The remarks come as tensions between Tehran and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups escalate on both sides of the Iran-Iraq border with Iran having launched successive waves of missiles and drones on groups, such as Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), who maintain bases near the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil.
Likewise, the Kurdish areas in western Iran have seen several clashes between Kurdish opposition groups and Iranian forces in recent months as pressure has mounted on Iran from the US and Israel.
Meanwhile, Talabani reportedly stressed the need for greater “synergy” between Iran and Iraq to implement their security agreement and “disarm terrorist groups threatening the security of the two countries,” while stating that “Iraq and the Kurdistan Region would never allow Iraqi territory to become a haven for activities that could harm or threaten the security of regional countries, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to Tasnim.
Of note, Talabani’s readout didn’t include mentions of the Kurdish parties.
The PUK leader communicated the Kurdistan Region’s respect for “the security and sovereignty of neighboring countries” in a statement on X and “emphasized that the [current] problems require peaceful resolution and continuous dialogue,” drawing on “the shared and ancient history with the Iranian people.”
In his meeting with Talabani, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei framed the visit as part of Iran's “ongoing consultations with the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region" aimed at “expanding bilateral relations and strengthening regional peace and stability.”
Despite affirmations of neutrality, the Kurdistan Region has been caught in the crosshairs of the US-Iran war which erupted in late February.
Beyond the bases of Kurdish opposition groups, Rudaw has recorded nearly 1,000 drone and missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region since the start of the US-Iran conflict in late February, killing 32 people and wounding 154 others as of early August. Attacks have also targeted the residences of Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
During the Tuesday meeting, Araghchi reportedly “expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Bafel Jalal Talabani’s role and that of PUK to preserve the stability of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the region.”
