Iraqi Lawmaker Says Attacks on Kurdistan Region Will Stop

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - senior Iraqi lawmaker has sought to reassure residents of the Kurdistan Region, saying an understanding has been reached with armed groups that will prevent further attacks on Erbil and the Kurdistan Region in the coming days.

In an interview with Kurdistan24 on Wednesday, Abdulrahman al-Jazaeri, head of the Executive Committee of the National Bloc, said he was delivering the message for the first time through Kurdistan24.

"For the first time, through Kurdistan24, I announce that there will be no attacks against the Kurdistan Region in the coming days because an agreement and understanding have been reached with the armed groups that they will no longer target the Region," al-Jazaeri said.

Al-Jazaeri said President Barzani's message that any attack on Erbil and the Kurdistan Region would be unacceptable had a significant impact on the armed groups.

He said the message made clear that Erbil belongs to all components of Iraq.

"The resistance front has now reached the conclusion that dialogue with Erbil is necessary. Therefore, it has been decided that no attacks will be carried out against the Kurdistan Region and that the conflict should remain outside the Region," he said.

Commenting on the wider regional situation, al-Jazaeri said the recent developments represented a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and described them as a clear message from the United States to the Popular Mobilization Forces.

He said there were no guarantees that the armed groups would hand over their weapons to the Iraqi government while US forces remain in the region, adding that, according to his remarks, the United States wants the groups to surrender three categories of heavy weapons.

Al-Jazaeri also criticized the position of neighboring countries.

"Neighboring countries should not have attacked Iraq. They should have supported it. There is no evidence that attacks against Saudi Arabia originated from Iraq. However, I expect the Popular Mobilization Forces and the armed groups to respond to Saudi Arabia because Saudi Arabia is now part of the conflict in the region," he said.

He also said Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's planned visit to Saudi Arabia could be postponed because of concerns over the latest attacks.

According to al-Jazaeri, the prime minister is unable to stop drone attacks carried out by the armed groups or negotiate over them. He added that the Popular Mobilization Forces remain "a red line" for Iran and that Tehran would not remain silent in the face of attacks against them.