ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian at Erbil International Airport on Thursday ahead of the Iranian leader’s scheduled meetings with top Kurdish officials on the second day of his trip to Iraq and the Region.
Pezeshkian arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday for his first foreign visit since assuming office in late July, meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. He is also expected to visit Sulaimani, Najaf, and Basra during the trip.
The Iranian president is set to meet with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani while in Erbil. He is also scheduled to travel to Sulaimani and visit the gravesite of late Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
The Kurdistan Region and Iran enjoy good ties. During a forum in Sulaimani in April, President Barzani said that Iran has contributed to the economic “success” of the Kurdistan Region. The relationship has, however, been strained in recent years by Tehran’s attacks inside Kurdistan Region’s borders on exiled Kurdish groups and deadly missile strikes on locations that it alleged were Mossad bases. Erbil has vehemently rejected the claims.
Pezeshkian’s visit to several cities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region signals Tehran’s intention on having cordial relations with all of the country’s components, according to an Iraqi presidency official.
“Their visit is especially important in providing political support for Iraq… The Iranians’ message is that they want to be friendly with all of Iraq’s components, including the Kurdistan Region,” said Hawre Tofiq, head of the relations and international organizations office at the Iraqi presidency.
Iran and Iraq have shared a strong relationship since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Tehran has increased its influence over Baghdad and the country has dozens of armed groups who are affiliated with the Shiite rule in Tehran.
Pezeshkian and Sudani on Wednesday oversaw the signing of 14 memoranda of understanding in several fields, including the economy, culture, and cooperation between chambers of commerce, according to a statement from the Iraqi prime minister’s office.
