The relationship between Tehran and Iraqi Kurdistan is mostly influenced by Iraqi Kurdistan’s relationship with the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad; Iran, a Shiite Muslim-led state, supports the ruling Shiite Muslim-led coalition headed by current Iraqi prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Although the Kurdish-Baghdad relationship can be troubled – particularly when it comes to disagreements over the oil industry – it has recently improved and some have said Soleimani’s visit is a further indicator of that.
Nathim al-Dabbagh, Iraqi Kurdistan’s representative in Iran, says that Iran has an excellent relationship with Iraqi Kurdistan. Al-Dabbagh works out of an office in Iraq that was opened in 2007 – even though that office was never officially approved of by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. The office works operates as a joint office of the PUK and KDP. Meanwhile the Iranians have no such qualms, they have had two consulates in Iraqi Kurdistan – one in Erbil in the “yellow sector” and one in Sulaymaniyah in the “green sector”, since 2000.
This is despite the fact that law on political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan states that the parties themselves should not be developing relationships with other nations; this is the role assigned to Iraqi Kurdistan’s own Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In June 2012 Mustafa visited Iran and met with high ranking Iranian officials. It was his first visit there since the Change party was founded in 2006. Following Talabani’s return from Germany, where he had been for several months to have knee surgery, the pair met up and came to an agreement on several issues they had not been able to agree upon previously.
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