Al Jazeera Net Correspondents
ErbilOn the first visit by an Iranian president to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Erbil, the second leg of his visit to Iraq, where he met with Kurdish leaders, including the region’s president, Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Zashkian also met with representatives of Kurdish parties and minorities and held a special meeting with Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The headquarters of Massoud Barzani said in an official statement after the meeting with Zashkian: “During the meeting, emphasis was placed on coordinating and strengthening relations between the Kurdistan Region and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the political, economic and cultural fields. The headquarters’ statement also said that an official invitation was sent to President Masoud Barzani to visit Iran.
Barzani’s invitation to visit Iran has generated great interest on the Kurdish side, especially since Masoud Barzani has not visited Iran for more than 12 years, with his last visit to the neighboring country dating back to 2011.
Historical tour
At a joint press conference of Bezashkian with the region’s President Nechirvan Barzani, he said: “We discussed strengthening relations with the officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government and we will overcome the problems that existed between us, with the help of God.
It is noteworthy that the tension in relations between the two sides reached unprecedented levels after Iran bombed sites in Erbil with ballistic missiles on January 11, under the pretext that they were sites belonging to the Israeli Mossad, which was denied by the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the central government in Baghdad.
Observers expect the visit to restore relations between Tehran and Erbil to the level of friendship and cooperation before the region was targeted.
This is what the region is hoping for after Nechirvan Barzani indicated this in the presence of Pezeshkian when he spoke to journalists, saying: “The visit of the Iranian president was historic and we want to improve our relations in all aspects.”
He also added: “The arrival of the Iranian president as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a historic issue for us in all respects. We discussed the development of relations with the president, especially security issues.”
Barzani sent messages of reassurance to the Iranian side, saying: “We will not accept in any way the use of the lands of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Iran has long accused the region of harboring Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, which carry out attacks against it from the region’s territory.
Geopolitical importance
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net with the director of the French Center for Iraq Studies, Adel Baghwan, he said: “The Iranian president’s visit to the Kurdistan Region is of great importance, and we must not forget that the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the context of this visit, we treat the Kurdistan Region as another country within the framework of Iraq, especially if we know that the region has borders with Iran and extends over 450 kilometers.”
Baghwan added: “The Kurdistan Region has a special geopolitical importance for the Islamic Republic of Iran and economically there is a huge trade exchange amounting to $6 billion per year between the two sides, and the Islamic Republic is in great need of this trade exchange with the region.
The expert said: “This visit is very important for both sides in terms of security. It is important for the Kurdistan Region because Iran can use the Popular Mobilization Forces and groups close to Iran inside Iraq as a threat to the security and economic stability of the Kurdistan Region.
He also highlighted the possibility that “Iranian Kurdish groups could pose a threat to Iranian territory or to countries like the United States, without the will of the Kurdistan Region. All of this makes this visit important and not a protocol visit.”
Relieve stress
Political analyst Karuch Khoshnaw told Al Jazeera Net that “this is a historic and decisive visit, as it comes after the relations between Tehran and Erbil have been experiencing fluctuations. But after the visit of the Iranian president, preceded by that of the president of the region to Iran, the relations have now taken a new direction and entered a new phase.
Regarding Iran’s motivations for the visit, Khoshnaw said: “Bezeshkian wants to reduce tensions with the Kurdistan Region, and I believe this visit addressed a number of issues, including economic, political and security issues.”
In this regard, he stressed the need not to ignore a very important security agreement between Iran, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, which stipulates the withdrawal of Iranian opposition groups from the Kurdistan Region, and a large part of this agreement was implemented even before this visit.
The Iranian president ended his visit to the region with a visit to the city of Sulaymaniyah and a meeting with the leaders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to confirm Iran’s relations with the Patriotic Union, the rival of the Democratic Party in Kurdistan.