PM Barzani, Iraqi Premier call off Davos meetings with Iranian FM

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani on Wednesday canceled their Davos meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in protest of Monday's missile attacks in Erbil by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On Monday at least three ballistic missiles hit the private residence of renowned Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee in northern Erbil city during a family gathering, resulting in four casualties among his family, including his 11-month and 18-month-old children. Six others have been wounded.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has claimed responsibility for the assault, confirming that it was carried out using ballistic missiles.

Moreover, the Iraqi Government described the attack as “aggression against sovereignty” and the principle of neighborliness, according to a statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Iran has fiercely defended the missile strikes, arguing they targeted “bases and facilities of ‘terrorist groups’ based in Syria and Iraq. The operation came in response to the recent terrorist attack in Kerman, which led to the death of more than 100 citizens and was claimed by ISIS,” according to a statement it submitted to the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Both senior Kurdish and Iraqi officials have rejected Iran’s claims that Israeli Mossad intelligence operates in the Kurdish region.

Editing by Dastan Muwaffaq