PM Sudani, PM Barzani cancel Davos meetings with Iranian officials
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani canceled their scheduled meetings with Iranian officials at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, in light of Iran’s recent deadly attack on Erbil, a well-informed source told Rudaw.
Barzani and Sudani were reportedly set to hold separate meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the forum.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired 10 ballistic missiles towards different parts of Erbil province late Monday, under the pretext of targeting Mossad bases and headquarters of anti-Iran groups. The attacks left at least four killed, including an 11-month-old girl, and 17 others injured.
Speaking during a presser in Davos on Tuesday, Barzani condemned the “unjustified” attack by the IRGC, stressing that Erbil has always tried to maintain peaceful relations with neighboring countries.
“We have no animosity towards any of our neighbors, especially Iran. In the past few years there have been other attacks also against Kurdistan, we do not know what the reasons are, but all of the allegations that they have made are baseless,” Barzani told reporters.
The Iraqi foreign ministry on Wednesday announced it has officially submitted a complaint against Iran to the United Nations’ Security Council about the attack. It had previously summoned Iran's charge d’affaires in Baghdad to protest the IRGC aggression.
Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, said on Tuesday that the attack on Erbil was in line with Tehran's defense of its sovereignty, security, and the mission of "combating terrorism,” stressing that the Islamic republic will not hesitate to use its “legitimate and legal right” to confront what it considers a “threat to the national security” of Iran.
In March of 2022, Iran attacked Erbil with twelve ballistic missiles, striking the residence of a well-known Kurdish businessman. The IRGC claimed responsibility for targeting “the strategic center of the Zionist conspiracy and evil by point-to-point missile.”
Erbil has repeatedly denied the Iranian claims of the presence of Israeli intelligence in the Kurdistan Region.
Barzani and Sudani were reportedly set to hold separate meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the forum.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired 10 ballistic missiles towards different parts of Erbil province late Monday, under the pretext of targeting Mossad bases and headquarters of anti-Iran groups. The attacks left at least four killed, including an 11-month-old girl, and 17 others injured.
Speaking during a presser in Davos on Tuesday, Barzani condemned the “unjustified” attack by the IRGC, stressing that Erbil has always tried to maintain peaceful relations with neighboring countries.
“We have no animosity towards any of our neighbors, especially Iran. In the past few years there have been other attacks also against Kurdistan, we do not know what the reasons are, but all of the allegations that they have made are baseless,” Barzani told reporters.
The Iraqi foreign ministry on Wednesday announced it has officially submitted a complaint against Iran to the United Nations’ Security Council about the attack. It had previously summoned Iran's charge d’affaires in Baghdad to protest the IRGC aggression.
Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, said on Tuesday that the attack on Erbil was in line with Tehran's defense of its sovereignty, security, and the mission of "combating terrorism,” stressing that the Islamic republic will not hesitate to use its “legitimate and legal right” to confront what it considers a “threat to the national security” of Iran.
In March of 2022, Iran attacked Erbil with twelve ballistic missiles, striking the residence of a well-known Kurdish businessman. The IRGC claimed responsibility for targeting “the strategic center of the Zionist conspiracy and evil by point-to-point missile.”
Erbil has repeatedly denied the Iranian claims of the presence of Israeli intelligence in the Kurdistan Region.