Media Wire

KRG’s Approach to Referendum ‘Irresponsible, Amateurish’: Iran

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani slammed the independence referendum recently held in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, saying the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) adopted an “irresponsible and amateurish approach”.

Speaking at a meeting with Turkey’s Chief of the General Staff General Hulusi Akar in Tehran on Monday, Shamkhani said the KRG’s approach to hold the independence vote last Monday in the Kurdistan Region was “irresponsible and amateurish”.

“Paying no attention to the time and security requirements and pursuing tribal goals through this move will reduce the focus on the fight against Takfiri terrorism as the most important threat to the region and will rapidly spread the harmful security impacts on the Kurdish region of Iraq,” he said.

Shamkhani also stressed the need for coordinated efforts among Tehran, Baghdad and Ankara to manage developments and prevent the negative effect of the independence vote on the fight against terrorism in Iraq.

The Turkish top commander, for his part, stressed the need to support the central government in Iraq and preserve the integrity of the Arab country.

He said Iran, Iraq and Turkey will prevent the implementation of separatist plans in the region through joint efforts.

The Iraqi Kurdistan Region went ahead with its plan to hold the referendum last Monday while Iraq’s neighbors and countries in the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey, had voiced opposition to such a move and supported the Baghdad central government.

Thousands of Kurdish people in favor of KRG’s secession from Iraq took to the streets in Erbil that night, with some waving Israeli flags to celebrate.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the only leader in the region to endorse the referendum, while all neighbors have warned that the secession plan would bring instability to the region and disintegrate Iraq.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Deputy FM raps US for holding Iranians hostage

A deputy Iranian foreign minister has criticized Washington for taking Iranian nationals hostage under the…

2 hours ago

Iran’s interior minister warns population crisis looms

Iranian Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, has raised alarms over the nation's declining population growth, warning…

2 hours ago

US suggests Ukraine consider ceding territories: El Pais

US President-elect Donald Trump has sent a message to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, asking him…

3 hours ago

Iranian official touts  blanket removal of internet filtering, dismisses step-by-step plan as ‘ineffective’

A member of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace has voiced his opposition to the government's…

3 hours ago

Sacked Persepolis coach Garrido bids emotional farewell

Juan Carlos Garrido, the former head coach of Persepolis, shared an emotional farewell message on…

4 hours ago

Sanctions against Syria must be lifted ‘as soon as possible’: Turkish FM

Ankara has called for the anti-Syria sanctions to be lifted "as soon as possible" as…

4 hours ago