|
Trending Topics
|
Referendum on Independent Kurdistan Puts Iran at Crossroads
(Al-Monitor) Fazel Hawramy - Ahead of a referendum by Iraqi Kurds on independence in September, Turkey, Iraq and Iran have all announced their opposition. "The Islamic Republic of Iran opposes some murmurs about holding a referendum in order to separate one part of Iraq," Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in June. There are over 13 million Kurds on both sides of the Iran-Iraq border. Whether under the shah or the Islamic Republic, Iran has been the only country that has had an overall cordial relationship with Iraqi Kurds. Ironically, Iran's continuous support for the Kurdish peshmerga in past decades has ensured that the desire for independence continued burning among Kurdish fighters.