Iraq
Elbrus Kutrashev (left), Kayhan Barzegar (center), and Lahib Higel (right) speaking in a panel during the 2022 MERI Forum in Erbil. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has the potential to become a “regional superpower” given its natural resources and military power, Russia’s ambassador to Iraq said on Tuesday, questioning whether all countries would permit that possibility to manifest into reality.
The annual Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum commenced in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil on Tuesday, attended by dozens of local and international officials and experts. The two-day forum will address the various political, security, economic, and environmental challenges facing Iraq at the moment.
Speaking at the forum, Elbrus Kutrashev, Russia’s ambassador to Iraq, believed that Iraq has the resources it needs to unlock the potential to become “not just a strong state, but a regional superpower” if other countries with influence in the Middle East would allow it to do so, likely alluding to the United States.
Touching upon the panel’s topic of regional actors and desecuritizing relations, Kutrashev stated that the main issue Iraq is confronting is that these actors focus more on the “political, economic, security issues” the country faces and allows these to prevail over the economic ones.
Kutrashev was joined on the panel by Kayhan Barzegar, Iranian professor at the Tehran-based Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, who stated that “the security of Iraq and Iran are linked together.”
Iran frequently targets areas in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region under varying pretexts.
Iran attacked Erbil with twelve ballistic missiles in the early hours of March 13, with at least four missiles landing on a Kurdish businessman's residence. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for targeting "the strategic center of the Zionist conspiracy and evil by point-to-point missile."
Regarding the missile attack in March, Barzegar claimed that Iran had acted upon “accurate and precise” information of Israeli presence in the Kurdistan Region, adding that Tehran would not tolerate such a threat so close to its borders. He also blamed the current nationwide protests across Iran on Israel, reiterating the perceived threat.
Iran has been engulfed in turmoil for the past seven weeks since the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police on September 16, igniting an unprecedented nationwide protest movement that has brought Iranians from all corners together to call for the overthrow of the Islamic regime.
Kutrashev assured that the Russian Federation is “against any sort of attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan” regardless of whether the target is energy-related or not. With regards to the recent shelling of the Region, he recalled that Russia had supported the issuing of a condemnation statement during the session dedicated to the attacks at the UN Security Council.
The IRGC attacked the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani provinces late September, targeting the bases of exiled Kurdish opposition groups. At least 16 people were killed and over 50 were injured in the attacks.
The annual Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum commenced in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil on Tuesday, attended by dozens of local and international officials and experts. The two-day forum will address the various political, security, economic, and environmental challenges facing Iraq at the moment.
Speaking at the forum, Elbrus Kutrashev, Russia’s ambassador to Iraq, believed that Iraq has the resources it needs to unlock the potential to become “not just a strong state, but a regional superpower” if other countries with influence in the Middle East would allow it to do so, likely alluding to the United States.
Touching upon the panel’s topic of regional actors and desecuritizing relations, Kutrashev stated that the main issue Iraq is confronting is that these actors focus more on the “political, economic, security issues” the country faces and allows these to prevail over the economic ones.
Kutrashev was joined on the panel by Kayhan Barzegar, Iranian professor at the Tehran-based Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, who stated that “the security of Iraq and Iran are linked together.”
Iran frequently targets areas in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region under varying pretexts.
Iran attacked Erbil with twelve ballistic missiles in the early hours of March 13, with at least four missiles landing on a Kurdish businessman's residence. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for targeting "the strategic center of the Zionist conspiracy and evil by point-to-point missile."
Regarding the missile attack in March, Barzegar claimed that Iran had acted upon “accurate and precise” information of Israeli presence in the Kurdistan Region, adding that Tehran would not tolerate such a threat so close to its borders. He also blamed the current nationwide protests across Iran on Israel, reiterating the perceived threat.
Iran has been engulfed in turmoil for the past seven weeks since the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police on September 16, igniting an unprecedented nationwide protest movement that has brought Iranians from all corners together to call for the overthrow of the Islamic regime.
Kutrashev assured that the Russian Federation is “against any sort of attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan” regardless of whether the target is energy-related or not. With regards to the recent shelling of the Region, he recalled that Russia had supported the issuing of a condemnation statement during the session dedicated to the attacks at the UN Security Council.
The IRGC attacked the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani provinces late September, targeting the bases of exiled Kurdish opposition groups. At least 16 people were killed and over 50 were injured in the attacks.
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