“I believe that holding the referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region would be to the detriment of the people,” Larijani said in a televised program Sunday night.

“Not only the people and government of Iraq, but also its neighbors have expressed opposition to the referendum in the Kurdistan Region,” he added.

Larijani further emphasized that the move could create problems, including economic losses, for the country in future.

Officials in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have said the northern territory would hold the independence referendum on September 25.

Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), announced the vote on June 7.

Earlier this month, Iraqi parliamentarians have rejected the legitimacy of the vote and the central government in Baghdad which is strongly opposed to this move has said it will do everything possible to keep the unity of the country intact.

Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Turkey, are also strongly opposed to such a move.