Iran has intervened in the growing rift between Iraqi Kurds and the central government in Baghdad by sending mediators to Erbil.
A delegation led by Riza Emiri Mukaddem, deputy secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, arrived in the Kurdish Regional Government’s capital on Wednesday to meet with President Massoud Barzani and other Kurdish leaders.
A statement from Barzani’s office said the Iranian delegation asked him to play an active role in establishing a new Iraqi government and reinstating security in the war-torn country.
Abdullah Akreyi, a Kurdish government official responsible for Iranian relations, said the Iranian delegation wanted a stronger relationship with the Kurdish government and to be kept informed of developments between Erbil and Baghdad.
Tensions between the Kurds and the government of Nouri al-Maliki have risen over recent weeks as the Kurdish authority moves closer to independence, bolstered by the retreat of Iraqi armed forces in northern Iraq. In some areas, such as oil-rich Kirkuk, Kurdish forces have taken control.
www.aa.com.tr/en
