TEHRAN (Iran News) President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nechirvan Barzani, visiting Iran to take part in the Tehran Dialogues Forum 2025, meets with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran.

During the meeting on Monday, Araqchi expressed his pleasure regarding Barzani’s visit to Tehran and his participation in the forum, highlighting the positive and growing relations between Iran and the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The foreign minister referred to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan region, which marked his first foreign trip since taking office, saying that the president held fruitful negotiations with senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials.

Araqchi also reaffirmed that Iran is committed to strengthening ties with both Baghdad and the Kurdistan region across various sectors of mutual interest.”Araqchi ”

In response, Barzani expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome in Tehran and acknowledged Iran’s ongoing support and cooperation with Iraq and the Kurdistan region.

He said that senior officials in the Kurdistan region are dedicated to advancing the implementation of agreements established during President Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq.

The two officials also discussed issues of mutual interest, along with significant regional and international developments.

The foreign minister referred to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan region, which marked his first foreign trip since taking office, saying that the president held fruitful negotiations with senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials.

Araqchi also reaffirmed that Iran is committed to strengthening ties with both Baghdad and the Kurdistan region across various sectors of mutual interest.”Araqchi ”

In response, Barzani expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome in Tehran and acknowledged Iran’s ongoing support and cooperation with Iraq and the Kurdistan region.

He said that senior officials in the Kurdistan region are dedicated to advancing the implementation of agreements established during President Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq.

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Barzani made the comments on Monday at a meeting with Mohammad Kazem Ale-Sadeq, the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad.

On March 19, Iran and Iraq inked a security agreement in Baghdad that includes coordination in protecting border security between the two countries.

The agreement followed hit-and-run attacks by Iran’s militant separatist groups that hide in Iraqi Kurdistan. They have expanded their nefarious actions, particularly in border regions.

In response to the actions, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has more than once fired rockets and missiles at their hiding places in northern Iraq.

Iran has repeatedly warned the local authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan that it will not tolerate the presence and activity of militant groups along its northern borders, threatening a decisive response if those areas become a hub for anti-Islamic Republic terrorists.

Ambassador Ale-Sadeq, for his part, urged the implementation of the Iran-Iraq security pact as well as the advancement of bilateral ties and positive communication and contact between Erbil and Tehran.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said there is no extension of the deadline for Iraq to disarm Kurdish separatists.

“Iran’s stance is quite clear. According to the agreement reached with the Iraqi government, the final deadline for the disarmament of the terrorist and separatist forces in Iraq’s Kurdistan region ends on September 19 and that deadline will not be extended in any way,” Kanaani said.

He added that the Iraqi government has taken steps in this direction and has stated that it would keep its promises.

Back in May, Qassem Al-Araji, the Iraqi national security advisor, visited Tehran for talks over border security.

“Under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the National Security Adviser is heading to Tehran at the head of a security delegation to discuss measures to secure the borders between Iraq and Iran,” Al-Araji said in a statement on Facebook.

In Tehran, Al-Araji met with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Ahmadian told the Iraqi official that Iran expects Baghdad to expel counter-revolutionary elements from Iraq in accordance with the Iran-Iraq security agreement.

“We expect the Iraqi government to guarantee the security of this country’s borders with Iran as soon as possible while ending the presence of anti-revolutionary elements in this country within the framework of this agreement,” Ahmadian told Al-Araji.

Ahmadian described the March security agreement, which is the result of months of dialogue and joint efforts of the relevant institutions of the two countries, as a very appropriate and strategic measure and emphasized the strict implementation of its provisions.

“Shared interests”

In their Monday meeting, Ambassador Ale-Sadeq and President Barzani also addressed topics of shared interest and the most recent regional developments.

Barzani also emphasized the need to maintain good ties with Iran since it is a crucial neighbor of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The envoy praised local Kurdish officials for their outstanding efforts to enable the Arbaeen mourning ceremony, the biggest yearly religious gathering in the world.

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Iran’s Nour News, affiliated with the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reported on Wednesday that the terrorists, ordered by a foreign intelligence service, smuggled the constituent parts of a micro aerial vehicle and explosive materials from the Kurdistan region into Iran through far-flung and arduous routes, and handed them over to a liaison in a border city in the northwestern part of the country.

The report added that the drone parts and explosives were then assembled at a modern workshop by a group of specialists and were used in the attack.

In a statement early on Sunday, the Iranian Defense Ministry announced that its air defense units had fended off a drone attack on a military workshop in Isfahan.

The ministry said one of the workshop complexes had come under attack from a number of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), but the complex’s air defenses successfully repelled the attack.

The unsuccessful attack, according to the ministry, did not cause any loss of life and only led to minor damage to the roof of a workshop. The complex, it added, continues its ordinary operations following the attack.

Since September 24 last year, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched several rounds of airstrikes against the positions of the terrorists, who are holed up in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The IRGC has urged the central Iraqi government and authorities in the Kurdistan region to meet their commitments toward Iran and take necessary measures to make the common border between the countries secure.

On November 21, positions of anti-Iran separatist and terrorist groups in northern Iraq came under fresh combined attacks using missiles and kamikaze drones.

The attacks targeted the positions of the notorious so-called Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Komala Party, in the northern Iraqi Kurdistan region, Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam television news network reported at the time.

According to the network, one attack saw four missiles being fired against a PDKI position in the town of Koy Sanjaq in the region’s Erbil Province. A separate attack featured kamikaze drones smashing into another site belonging to the group near the Baharka Village elsewhere in the region.

Simultaneously, kamikaze drones struck positions associated with Komala across two locations near the city of Sulaymaniyah in the region.

Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units or Hashd al-Sha’abi, said the attacks set off warning sirens at the United States’ Consulate in Erbil.

Local Kurdish sources said the attacks had killed as many as 26 members of the terrorist groups.

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Speaking to ILNA, Seyed Kamal Hosseini talked about the current trade condition between Iran and Kurdistan Region and prerequisites for expanding trade ties. He said that the number of Iranian trucks which go to Kurdistan Region and return has increased comparing to the same period last year.

He noted that most of goods which are exported to Kurdistan are construction materials, vegetables and fruits and the reason is the closure of the borders in most of the time last year and if the borders were not closed last year, maybe the situation would have seen no major and tangible change in the trade with this region.

Hosseini went on to say that Iran has been unable to materialize its export status in Kurdistan Region as it was expected, and this region is mostly consumer of goods and unfortunately rivals have outpaced Iran in Kurdistan Region market.

He reiterated that despite the slogan of non-oil exports, Iran has no readiness for it, and to this end, Iran needs to prepare border infrastructures, customs, transportation and too improve packing and quality of goods and other issues which will help the country competitive with other countries.

He added that the total trade exchange of Iran with Kurdistan including transit of goods is valued at around $6m that transit of the goods accounts for 70 percent of this figure. He stated that transit means that Iran has created a condition for its rivals to use its territory for transporting their goods and to sell more than what Iran does. He noted that although transit makes money, but he does not believe in transit of foreign goods from our lands to a market that Iran itself can have presence, and therefore the country should find ways to ease the presence of its goods in those markets.

Hosseini went on to say that Turkey is Iran’s major rival in Kurdistan Region market, adding that Iran’s low quality packing of the goods and low quality of the goods are the reasons that have helped Turkish products to dominate this market.

He said that if Iran wants to dominate Kurdistan Region market, it should improve the infrastructures, packing of goods and the quality.

On the condition of COVID-19 vaccination in Kurdistan Region, he said vaccination in underway in this region and anybody who wants the jabs, he can have it, adding that condition in this region is not like Armenia that Iranians can travel there to have vaccine.

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The public relations department of Hamzeh Sayyid al-Shohada Base of the IRGC Ground Force said in a statement that the armed clash happened at 2:40 PM local time on Tuesday near the city of Marivan.

In the operation, launched in cooperation with the intelligence forces of Kurdistan Province, the IRGC troops clashed with an 8-strong team of anti-Revolution terrorists and killed two of them, it said.

Four other terrorists were injured in the operation, and the rest of them fled the scene, the statement said, adding that a manhunt is in progress.

The IRGC is tasked with protecting the country’s northwestern and southeastern borders.

In July 2018, anti-revolutionary terrorists attacked a border post of the Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Base in the western province of Kurdistan, killing 11 forces of the base.

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As it was predicted, Iraq parliament on May 7 and after six months of uncertainty finally approved the Prime Minister-designate Prime Minister Mostafa Al-Khadhimi and his picks for cabinet members. This big success, which was achieved through prudence of Iraqi political parties and after hurdles and unpleasant challenges, is auspicious for Iraqi people and some neighboring countries too, but not for few countries.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

Saudis are angry at this approval, Turkey is in agony due to restoration of the stability and peace in Kurdistan and Iran and Syria are happy with this achievement. Before voting in the parliament, Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi had emphasized that Al-Kadhimi would face problems for getting vote of confidence but he ultimately would get vote of confidence. In a press conference, Al-Halbousi had elaborated that Al-Kadhimi would have a government with 20 ministers but there were some differences over the fates of two ministers. As it had been predicted, during voting the session predictions came true. Security and economy are two major challenges ahead of al-Kadhimi and his cabinet. 206 to 260 Iraqi parliament lawmakers participated in voting process and they cast their votes of confidence. Hence, Iraq has started a new stride towards stability and peace.

Lawmakers voted for Khalid Battal al-Najm as planning minister. They also voted for Hassan Mohammed Abbas Salman as health minister, for Nazineen Mohammad Wassaw as construction and housing minister, for Majid Mahdi Hantoush as electricity minister, for Adil Hashush Jabir Jassim as labor and social affairs minister, for Arkam Shihab Ahmed Kadhim as telecommunications minister, for Adnan Dirjal as youth and sport minister, for Manhal Aziz Mahmoud as industry and minerals minister, for Ali Hameed Mukhlif as education minister, for Nasir Hussein Bander Hamad as transport minister,  for General Othman Ali Farhood Musheer Al Ghanimi as interior minister and for Ali Allawi as finance minister.

In the past, finance ministry was in control of Iraqi Kurds but this time they were content to take the control of the foreign ministry. Representative of Basra in the parliament tried to impose their nominees for ministries of oil and transport even they resorted to some threats.

Iraqi parties like Hekmat led by Seyed Ammar Hakim, Al-Fath Coalition led by Hadi al-Amiri, Strong Iraq led by Parliament Speaker al-Halbousi, Coalition of Kurd Parties led by Barham Salih were the major supporters of Al-Kadhimi’s designation but Sadrist Movement as well as Sadiqoun Bloc were opposing the Al-Kadhimi government. The opposition of some political parties led to some changes in the cabinet during the voting as lawmakers cast vote of confidence for Adil Hashush Jabir Jassim as labor and social affairs minister, for Khalid Shwani as justice minister and for Haribi Abdollah as agriculture minister to replace Al-Kadhimi’s picks.

So what happened in Iraq was official declaration for formation of a new government after recommendation of grand cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to former Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to resign following full-scale unrests and clashes in the country six months ago which were like a full civil war, instigated by the U.S.

Hours after esteemed grand cleric of Iraqi Shiites’ Friday prayer sermon in Karbala, Abdul-Mahdi in a statement announced his readiness to submit his resignation to the parliament. At that time, this question was raised what scenarios would be in front of the Iraqi government. During this time, Iraq was busy with passing its time with the U.S. military threat and with security shocks, while some candidates for the premiership job, who were not considered as national choices, wasted much time, but fortunately Iraq parliament finally had an ending well, and today we have a government in our neighborhood that we can talk with them for advancement of regional goals like political and economic co-operations and even a military one, and we should thank God for it.

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The name of the village is comprised of the word ‘Ahura’ and the word ‘Man’, which means home, land or place; therefore the name Oraman or Huraman or Hawraman means the land of Ahura (Zoroastrian angelic divinities). Locals believe the village was once a magnificent city and often add a ‘Takht,’ which means center and capital, to its name. The remains of Sassanid (226-651 CE) fire temples scattered around in the area attest to the ancient history of Oraman.

Oraman neighbors Iraq in the west and the city of Javanroud in the south. The village connects to Mehran city via a 65 kilometer road.  Oraman is surrounded by the mountains of the Zagros range and has mild temperatures in the spring and summer but very cold and long winters.

The name of the village is comprised of the word ‘Ahura’ and the word ‘Man’, which means home, land or place; therefore the name Oraman or Huraman or Hawraman means the land of Ahura (Zoroastrian angelic divinities). Locals believe the village was once a magnificent city and often add a ‘Takht,’ which means center and capital, to its name. The remains of Sassanid (226-651 CE) fire temples scattered around in the area attest to the ancient history of Oraman.

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Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif spotlighted Iran’s reliability as a friend and business partner for Kurds after his visit to the Kurdistan Region during a trip to Iraq.

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Heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, Zarif arrived in Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital, this morning.

He was welcomed by the prime minister of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, on arriving.

The Iranian top diplomat is slated to hold talks with senior KRG officials on a range of issues, including ways to boost bilateral relations.

On Sunday, Zarif arrived in Baghdad for an official visit. The visit comes against the backdrop of Iran’s efforts to boost its foreign trade in the US sanctions era.

Iraq’s foreign minister said recently that his country is “not obliged” to abide by sanctions imposed by the US against Iran and would be pursuing options to continue bilateral trade.

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