NOURNEWS: The head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region's trip to Tehran occurred at a time when Tehran-Erbil relations had been facing challenges over the past few months due to security risks and the activities of some terrorist groups against Iran from the region's soil, as well as Iran’s military operations against these groups to ensure its security.
In the meeting with Nechirvan Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Iranian authorities emphasized the importance of fully implementing the security deal between Iran and Iraq, in which the Iraqi Kurdistan Region plays an important role.
Barzani also assured that the Kurdistan Region would not become a hub of threat against Iran, emphasizing that “We know the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Jafar Qanad-Bashi, an expert on regional issues, analyzed the achievements of the recent trip and exclusively told NOURNEWS that “The trip could be understood as an announcement of new stances or backing behind the past conditions and entering a new chapter in the relationship between Iran and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.”
He added that, to some extent, the trip is seeking Iran’s help in solving the problems the Kurdistan Region is struggling with, and, of course, it could mean that the Kurdistan Region is assuring Iran about the full implementation of the security agreement between Iran and Iraq.
“The trip is the sum of new decisions made among Erbil’s authorities to reassess their relationships with the region’s countries. The trip is the harbinger of a new chapter in Iran-Erbil relations, and naturally, we would witness security, economic, and political deals between the two sides.”
Pointing to the fact that enhancing ties between Iran and Erbil will benefit all regional countries and increase regional security, Qanad-Bashi said that the perspective designed between Tehran and Erbil is different from that of the past due to revisions in the approaches of Iraqi authorities in the northern parts of the country.
“It seems that Erbil officials have come to the conclusion that they cannot ensure their security by relying on players outside the region and must provide security and stability through dialogue and the expansion of ties with neighbors,” the expert told Nournews.
He added that the stance of Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the northern regions of Iraq, was positive regarding his trip to Tehran, and one can be hopeful that the security agreement between Iraq and Iran will be fully implemented and that terrorist groups and Kurdish separatists will be disarmed based on that.
Regarding the future of Iran-Erbil relations, Qanad-Bashi told Nournews that “the ambiance and conditions for big economic deals are not prepared yet. However, limited collaborations are underway.
The Kurdistan Region boasts big potentials, and Iran can have good trade ties with all regional countries, including Iraq. However, economic ties between the two parties have always been defined within a certain framework, and it seems that we must expect the actualization of the enhancement of trade ties between Tehran and Erbil in the future.”
NOURNEWS