Iran attack on Kurds ‘terrible,’ say US representatives

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Members of the United States Congress on Thursday told Rudaw that Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Erbil is “terrible” and accused Tehran of “creating mischief” around the world.

“I think it's a terrible thing that the Iranians are attacking the Kurds, whether they lived in Iraq or any other place,” Don Beyer, US representative from Virginia told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the late hours of Monday launched ten ballistic missiles toward the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil, under the pretext of targeting “spy headquarters” of anti-Iran groups, killing at least four and wounding 17 others. 

Beyer lauded the Kurdish forces for being “excellent partners with the United States for a long time,” adding that they were “critical” in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).

The Virginia Democratic Party congressman also accused Iran of “creating mischief” all over the world.

“Iran's creating mischief all over the world, with Hamas, with Hezbollah, with the Houthis in Yemen, and I'm really sorry to hear about the Iranian attacks on the Kurdish people,” Beyer said.

Derrick Van Orden, US member of Congress from Wisconsin told Rudaw that the attacks were terrible, praising Kurds as “staunch” allies of the US, and that Washington stands with Erbil.

“The Kurds have been our allies for a very long period of time they've been staunch allies. I'm very proud to have served with them when I was in Iraq as a Navy Seal and the Kurdish people need to understand that we're standing with them,” said Van Orden.

 

Florida Rep Anna Paulina Luna, that the US needs to recognize “the Kurds and the Kurdish nation as an independent nation,” adding that the US needs “to do something” about the situation in the region.

“We need to say something, I think to stay silent is problematic,” Luna said.

The attack on Erbil was widely condemned by Kurdish and Iraqi officials, as well as internationally. The Iraqi foreign ministry on Wednesday announced that Baghdad officially submitted a complaint against Iran to the United Nations Security Council. 

Speaking during a presser in Davos on Tuesday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the “unjustifiable” attack by the IRGC, stressing that Erbil has always tried to maintain peaceful relations with neighboring countries. He labeled the allegations of Israel’s presence in the Region as “baseless.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein labeled the strikes as an Iranian “aggression” and categorically denied the presence of Israeli intelligence in the Kurdistan Region. 

In a Tuesday statement on X, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji stated that “the claims that a Mossad headquarters was targeted [in the attack] are baseless” after leading a high-level security delegation to Erbil to inspect the aftermath of the bombardment.

Kurdish PM Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani cancelled their scheduled meetings with Iranian officials at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, in light of Iran’s latest deadly attacks on the Kurdish capital.