ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Friday met with Iranian leaders to discuss enhancing bilateral ties and wider regional affairs. The meetings come on the sidelines of the Kurdish President's participation in the funeral of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and in the wake of the Iran war and ensuing peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
The Kurdish leader met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, where they discussed "strengthening ties between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and Iran, with particular emphasis on expanding trade, deepening economic cooperation, and building on the shared historical and cultural bonds that connect the two sides," the Kurdistan Region Presidency said in a statement.
The two top officials "reviewed developments in the wider region, agreeing on the importance of preserving security and stability and reaffirming their support for dialogue and peaceful means of resolving disputes," the statement added.
President Barzani also met with Iran’s chief negotiator and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf where both “reaffirmed their commitment to the enduring and friendly relations between the two sides,” the Kurdish Presidency said in a separate statement.
Talks between the two top officials largely focused on “the ongoing negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States regarding a potential agreement,” with both expressing hope that “the dialogue and diplomatic efforts would lead to lasting peace and stability in the region.”
The Kurdish President also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi - another prominent member of Tehran’s negotiating team with Washington - also to discuss “ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination, addressed the ceasefire, and reviewed recent developments in the region.”
The key meetings come as President Barzani arrived in Iran on Friday to participate in the funeral ceremony of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei (1939 - 2026).
Khamenei was killed on February 28, on the first day of the joint US-Israeli aerial campaign launched against Iran, which also killed several of the country's top leaders and commanders.
While several previous dates for his funeral were set in previous weeks, the six-week Iran war and the ensuing intermittent tit-for-tat military escalations and maritime measures by Washington and Tehran in regional waters appear to have hindered it.
The funeral ceremony is set to begin Saturday and Sunday, with the body lying in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla before a mass funeral procession Monday in the Iranian capital.
Further rites are scheduled in Iran's shrine city of Qom, with Khamenei's body expected to be transferred to Iraq's southern holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.
The late supreme leader’s final burial is set to take place in the shrine city of Mashhad in northern Iran on July 9.
