Iran poses challenge towards Kurdistan independence

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Kurdish politician says that it is not easy for the Kurdistan Region to gain the support from Iran for an independence referendum.

Mahmood Othman, a prominent Kurdish politician, told Kurdistan24, “Successive Iranian governments have been opposing the rights of the Kurds for an independent state, and in the Iranian constitution, Kurds have not been granted any rights.”

Othman said that Iran will not support an independent Kurdish entity that represents the will of Kurds, especially with Kurdistan as its neighbor, adding that Iran’s position towards a referendum is very clear.

“Iranian officials have clearly described the independence of the Kurdistan Region as a threat to Iraq, the region and even sometimes a threat to Iranian national security,” Othman added.

The Iranian consulate general in the province of Sulaimani in the Kurdistan Region, Saadullah Masudian, told Kurdistan24 last week that the “Islamic Republic of Iran agrees to end the Sykes-Picot agreement and make new changes to the borders only if the people of the region demand it, without the interference of external powers.” 

Elsewhere, Hossein Jabari Ansary, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, announced in a press conference on May 10 that a united Iraq will preserve the interests of people in the country and the neighboring countries.

Ansary stated that the primary threat to Iraq now is the risk of confronting terror and extremism. “I hope Iraq’s officials and political elites understand the status quo and continue their talks to protect the unity of Iraq and succeed over terrorists,” he said.

In an interview with Kurdistan24, Muhammad Haji Mahmoud, the leader of the Kurdistan Socialist Party, stated, “No one will grant us independence as a gift, it is the status quo that creates it, and we should make an independent Kurdistan a status quo.”

“God has not created us to live within Iraq forever,” he added.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany