IRGC attack on Erbil will deter investment: experts

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The fallout from Iran’s missile attack on Erbil will do economic damage and deter sorely needed investment in the Kurdistan Region, experts predicted in a special Rudaw broadcast hosted by Sangar Abdulrahman from the ruins of the family home that was destroyed in the attack.

On Monday night, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ten ballistic missiles toward Erbil on the pretext of targeting a “spy headquarters” of anti-Iran groups, killing four people. The target was the house of Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee, the owner of Falcon Group with a portfolio that includes projects such as Empire World. Tehran alleged the house was a Mossad base - a claim denied by Kurdish and Iraqi officials. Dizayee and his baby daughter Zhina were among the dead.

Nasser Harki, a former member of the Iraqi parliament’s defense and security committee, said the IRGC strike was a “direct attack on the resilience of the people of Erbil.”

Harki noted that Kurdish leaders were making strides towards some resolution on outstanding issues with the federal government and attracting investment. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Baghdad last week for talks with Iraqi government officials and party leaders, and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to Davos for meetings with global leaders and delegations were “about to create an atmosphere to bring in investors to invest in Erbil,” he said.

“Targeting the house of a businessman will impede the development and reconstruction of the Kurdistan Region,” he added.

Hours after the attack, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji visited Erbil to assess the aftermath. And Iraq’s foreign ministry summoned Iran's charge d’affaires in Baghdad to protest the IRGC aggression. The ministry on Wednesday announced it officially submitted a complaint against Iran to the United Nations Security Council.

Mithal al-Alusi, founder and former leader of the Iraqi Ummah Party, doubled down on Harki’s words that the Kurdistan Region’s success and prosperity was the reason for the attack, saying that Erbil enjoys a prominent status among Arab and regional organizations, something Tehran does not want.

“Are the Kurdish villages along the Kurdistan-Iran border also bases of Mossad, USA, NATO, and spying centers? This is not true. The Kurdish villages are targeted for the purpose of subjecting Kurdistan to Iranian political whims,” said Alusi.

Alusi noted that the Iranian government is currently facing its own threats and is unstable, and with the attack on the Kurdistan Region it wanted to send a message to Iraqi officials. 

“Attacking Kurdistan and civilians in Kurdistan is a direct message to Iraqi officials that they will not hesitate to target Iraq, too,” he said, adding that Iran does not want Erbil and Baghdad to enjoy a good relation.

"As politicians, it is our duty to push for the strengthening the relations between Baghdad and Erbil, which is the appropriate response to Iranian aggression," he said.

Erbil’s chamber of commerce and industry on Friday called for a boycott of Iranian products to protest the attack. A day later, Duhok’s chamber of commerce also called for a halt on all economic and trade ties with Tehran.

“Iran’s exports to the Kurdistan Region are worth an estimated 2 to 2.5 billion dollars, annually. As the chamber of commerce we decided to boycott this trade, and will be able to have an effect on the Iranian economy,” said Kamaran Bajgir, a member of Erbil’s chamber of commerce, adding that members of the chamber “responded well” to the boycott call.

There are multiple border crossings between the Kurdistan Region and Iran, but only three are internationally recognized: Bashmakh and Parwezkhan in Sulaimani province and Haji Omran in Erbil province. 

The Kurdistan Region relies on imports from Iran and Turkey for most commodities. Bajgir said there are alternatives to Iranian products from neighboring countries.

“We have alternatives to Iranian products. We have a lot of neighbors we can trade with, such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China. And the means of transportation is easy,” he said.

The Islamic Scholars Association in Kurdistan and the KRG ministry of endowment and religious affairs instructed Islamic scholars across the region to dedicate their Friday sermon to condemnation of the missile strike.

Abdullah Waisi, president of the Islamic Scholars Association in Kurdistan, said the majority of scholars followed the instruction. “Luckily, the majority of religious scholars in Kurdistan Region, in Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaimani dedicated their sermons to condemn the attack,” he said.

Waisi added that the Islamic scholars wanted to emphasize that the strike was “far away from any human or religious principle,” and “does not align with any religious laws,” while labeling it as a “terrorist act.”

“Which mind or conscience accepts the killing of an 11-month-old child on the basis of attacking an Israeli base?” Waisi asked.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos repeated claims that the IRGC attacked an Israeli Mossad base in Erbil.

Amir-Abdollahian’s remarks were vehemently denied by his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, who referred to the attack as “not acceptable” and an “aggression,” categorically denying the presence of Israeli intelligence in the Kurdistan Region.