The “green sector” first emerged in the 1990s when the KDP and PUK fought one another in an Iraqi Kurdish civil war. This saw what is now Iraqi Kurdistan basically divided in two, with areas around Erbil and Dohuk under KDP control and the Sulaymaniyah area under the PUK’s control. Green (PUK) and yellow (KDP) were the colours of the two party’s separate flags.
Although the two parties now rule the state together, those geographic delineations still exist with the KDP and the PUK holding most authority in areas they traditionally oversaw.
And the “green sector” shares 400km worth of border with Iraq. The border crossing at Bashmagh is a major commercial point of entry between Iran and Iraq. According to PUK officials and officials in Tehran, the amount of trade that’s gone through here has added up to around US$4 billion.
Historically, when the PUK and KDP were fighting one another the two sides were supported by their neighbours. Iran supported the PUK and Turkey supported the KDP. Neither of those nations acknowledged this officially though.
“Because of this, Iran has been able to play an important role in Iraqi Kurdistan and to have a say in Iraq,” Gholizade believes. “There is no doubt that Iran and Turkey are major poles in any regional conflict.”
As proof, Gholizade gave the example of the split between Iraqi Kurdish politicians over the issue of the recent attempted removal of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki from power. The KDP had been keen to withdraw confidence for al-Maliki, along with various other major parties in Iraq. Meanwhile the PUK had not been as enthusiastic, which Gholizade believes, indicates the Iranian influence on them.
Apart from the recent thawing in relations between the PUK and Change parties that has been partially attributed to Iranian influence, another sign of the growing détente between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq was the Sept. 25 visit of Qasim Soleimani, the commander of the Qods force, a special military unit of the Iranian army that often works beyond the Iranian borders; for instance, when the Kurdish were fighting former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, they helped the Kurdish side.
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