Middle East
Iran’s Consul General to Erbil, Nasrollah Rashnoudi (center) speaking to Rudaw on May 21, 2024, in the background are pictures of late President Ebrahim Raisi (left) and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s Consul General to Erbil Nasrollah Rashnoudi said on Tuesday that his country puts “special importance” on relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and hopes that new leadership will maintain the same policy after the recent death of President Ebrahim Raisi.
“Without a doubt, the policy of President Dr. Raisi and the foreign minister was to develop relations with our neighbors. This has been a primary foundation of President Raisi’s foreign policy, placing special importance on Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region,” Nasroullah told Rudaw.
“We have significant mutual interests with the Kurdistan Region and have established longstanding and effective relations. These relations are organized, and we hope that the new leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the new executive authorities will continue to advance this policy,” he added.
Raisi and several top Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed on Sunday after their helicopter crashed in a rugged region in East Azerbaijan province.
The crash occurred in a mountainous area with dense fog and bad weather conditions after the delegation returned from the inauguration ceremony of a dam jointly built by Iran and Azerbaijan. The death of the officials was confirmed after rescue teams found the crashed chopper early Monday.
Two weeks before Raisi’s death, Kurdistan Region President Nechrivan Barzani paid a three-day visit to Iran, normalizing Erbil-Tehran ties which were harmed in January after Iran attacked the Kurdish capital with ballistic missiles.
During the visit, President Barzani invited Raisi to visit Erbil as part of a planned trip to Iraq later this month.
Rashnoudi stated that it remains uncertain whether Iran’s acting President Mohammad Mokhber will visit Baghdad and Erbil.
“God willing, the visit will take place, either during the term of Mr Mokhber or after the election of the new president,” Rashnoudi said.
The funeral processions of Raisi and other officials will take place on Wednesday.
A Kurdistan Region delegation, which includes President Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, is in Iran to pay their respect for the late president.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani is also in Tehran to attend the funeral.
Nwenar Fatih contributed to this report
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