ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The spokesman of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that his country’s and the Kurdistan Region’s security are linked, in an apparent effort by Tehran to backpedal on strong comments against Erbil that prompted the Kurdish president to warn that good ties were in jeopardy.
“The national security of Iran and the Kurdistan region are linked together,” said Ramazan Sharif, who speaks for the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
Indirectly referring to the earlier comments about Kurdistan and President Masoud Barzani, Sharif said they had been wrongly interpreted.
“Making up wrongful interpretations of the Iranian military’s official statement regarding the Kurdistan region’s behavior towards Iran is a failed scenario and the enemy will not win this way,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
“Following failure after failure by the enemies of Islam, especially in Aleppo and Mosul, they want to cover their failures through distortion,” Sharif said. “Their strategy is to create tensions and disputes between the countries and people of the region, such as between the people of Iran and the Kurdistan region.”
Sharif’s comments followed those of Yahiya Rahim Safavi, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who earlier this week accused the Kurdistan Region and in particular the Barzani family of allowing Saudi Arabia to arm Kurdish groups opposed to Iran.
“We warn about the fact that the Barzanis permit the Saudi consulate in northern Iraq to give arms to those who are anti-Iran,” Safavi said in his speech, referring to Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
The Kurdistan Regional Government responded to those accusations as “baseless,” and warned that ties between the two neighbors could suffer.
“We declare here loud and clear that all the remarks by Yahiya Rahim Safavi are incorrect and baseless,” read a statement from the KRG published on Tuesday.
The KRG denied the accusations, and challenged Safavi to provide proof.
“He cannot show any evidence to prove what he said his right. We challenge the aforementioned individual to give one piece of proof that the Kurdistan Region has posed in any way a threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement read.
“The national security of Iran and the Kurdistan region are linked together,” said Ramazan Sharif, who speaks for the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
Indirectly referring to the earlier comments about Kurdistan and President Masoud Barzani, Sharif said they had been wrongly interpreted.
“Making up wrongful interpretations of the Iranian military’s official statement regarding the Kurdistan region’s behavior towards Iran is a failed scenario and the enemy will not win this way,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
“Following failure after failure by the enemies of Islam, especially in Aleppo and Mosul, they want to cover their failures through distortion,” Sharif said. “Their strategy is to create tensions and disputes between the countries and people of the region, such as between the people of Iran and the Kurdistan region.”
Sharif’s comments followed those of Yahiya Rahim Safavi, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who earlier this week accused the Kurdistan Region and in particular the Barzani family of allowing Saudi Arabia to arm Kurdish groups opposed to Iran.
“We warn about the fact that the Barzanis permit the Saudi consulate in northern Iraq to give arms to those who are anti-Iran,” Safavi said in his speech, referring to Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
The Kurdistan Regional Government responded to those accusations as “baseless,” and warned that ties between the two neighbors could suffer.
“We declare here loud and clear that all the remarks by Yahiya Rahim Safavi are incorrect and baseless,” read a statement from the KRG published on Tuesday.
The KRG denied the accusations, and challenged Safavi to provide proof.
“He cannot show any evidence to prove what he said his right. We challenge the aforementioned individual to give one piece of proof that the Kurdistan Region has posed in any way a threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement read.
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