“Both sides stressed the importance of good relations between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the Islamic Republic of Iran based on good neighborliness and common interests, and they discussed opportunities on how to develop all areas of ties and bilateral cooperation,” said a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Barzani arrived in Tehran on Sunday alongside a high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Region including Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed and several other senior officials. He met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the following day.
During Barzani’s meeting with Ghalibaf, both parties agreed to “boost bilateral cooperation between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and Iran in trade, economy, investment, agriculture, tourism, culture, education, and many other sectors.”
The Kurdistan Region and Iran enjoy good economic relations. During a forum in Sulaimani in April, Barzani said that Iran contributed to the economic “success” of the Kurdistan Region.
But the overall relations between the two sides have been fluctuating, mainly due to Tehran’s attacks on exiled Kurdish groups and deadly missile strikes on locations that it alleged were Mossad bases in the Region.
Dilshad Shahab, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region presidency, said that, through this trip, President Barzani wants to reaffirm to Erbil’s allies that the Kurdistan Region will never become a source of threat to the interests of its neighbors, especially Iran.
“It is no secret that there has been a kind of coldness in these [Erbil-Tehran] relations in recent times; we want to be assured that the common interests of both sides outweigh the obstacles that may arise,” Shahab told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman.
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