President Barzani, Iranian deputy FM stress ceasefire, dialogue amid regional escalation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Friday met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh on the sidelines of a high-level diplomacy forum in Turkey, where the two sides discussed regional developments and the repercussions of regional conflicts, including the recent six-week war on Iran.

In a statement, the Kurdistan Region Presidency reported that President Barzani and Khatibzadeh discussed “relations between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” with “both sides stressing the need to strengthen ties and enhance joint cooperation in areas of mutual interest.”

Meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), the two top diplomats also discussed the nearly 40-day war on Iran, emphasizing “the importance of maintaining the [ongoing] ceasefire” and continuing dialogue among the warring parties “to prevent further escalation, achieve peace, and preserve stability and security across the Middle East.”

The United States and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran on February 28, with official reports from Washington and Tel Aviv indicating that over 17,000 strikes were carried out against sites across Iran deemed to “pose an imminent threat.”

In response, Tehran launched thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as carrying out retaliatory attacks against Israel.

A Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the US came into effect early last week, followed by rare face-to-face talks between senior American and Iranian negotiators in Islamabad on Saturday.

While the first round of discussions ended without a final agreement on Sunday, a high-level Pakistani “political-security delegation” arrived in Iran on Wednesday, reportedly to deliver a “new message” from Washington to Tehran and lay the groundwork for a second round of talks, Iranian state media reported.

Among the key sticking points remain differences over Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities and the management of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil trade flows.

For his part, the Kurdistan Region President affirmed in remarks published last week by the prominent Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that “there is no military solution to the Iranian crisis.” He added that “the only way forward now is diplomacy,” noting that patience is required given the cultural differences between the Iranian mindset, which is detail-oriented, and the American approach, which seeks rapid resolutions.

President Barzani further underlined that “everything must be done to consolidate the ceasefire,” affirming that the Kurdistan Region, since the onset of the war, has “opposed using its territory as a base against its neighbors” and reiterating that “it is not a party to the conflict.”