Iran Has No Role in Kirkuk Operation: Leader’s Aide

Ali Akbar Velayati, an international advisor to Iran's Leader, has dismissed allegations of the Islamic Republic’s involvement in the Iraqi army’s operation to retake the oil-rich city of Kirkuk from Kurdish forces.

“Iran has no role in Kirkuk operation and most Iraqi Kurdish people are opposed to [KRG president] Masoud Barzani’s ambitions,” Velayati told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with France’s special envoy for Syria.

“We saw that almost without any conflicts the region came under the control of Iraqi central government. Barzani must realise and admit that he has made a mistake.”

Referring to the role the United States plays in disintegration of Iraq, he said the Americans built a military base in Syria seeking the breakdown of the government. He sarcastically concluded that if they succeed in disintegrating Iraq, they will succeed in Syria too.

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