This included Talabani agreeing to a reassessment of the semi-autonomous region’s draft Constitution. It had previously been ratified by the Iraqi Kurdish Parliament but the Change party had wanted it resubmitted. In the past the PUK and Iraqi Kurdistan’s other major party, the KDP, had been opposed to this. But now Talabani, and the PUK, were willing to change their minds.
Local political analyst, Jirjis Gholizade, said the meeting between Talabani and Mustafa had come about partially due to Iran’s influence. “Iran wants the [Iraqi Kurdish region] stable because of pressure on its own nation,” Gholizade argued. “It’s not surprising that Iran would want these two parties to put their differences aside and agree.”
However the deputy head of the Iraqi Kurdish Ministry of Foreign affairs, Karwan Jamal, wasn’t so sure about that, explaining that Mustafa’s June visit to Iran was completely normal. “It’s only natural that he would visit Iran,” Jamal told NIQASH, “but he should respect the principles of international relations in this region and his visit should also serve the interests of this region.”
“Iran prefers Iraq to be ruled by a party which shares its own ideology,” Jamal continued. “They see the conflicts happening inside Iraq so they want to put pressure on to solve that.”
Jamal also made it clear that the Iraqi Kurdish government was united in its attitude toward any political conflicts in Iraq and that its external relationships were based on widely acceptable international standards of diplomacy and on mutual respect.
This is not the first time Iran has flexed its diplomat muscle in this area. Local observers say that Iran has had influence in the “green sector” of Iraqi Kurdistan for years now.
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