According to local and international news media, Soleimani’s visit was about persuading the Kurdish not to help Syrian rebels currently fighting that country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad. Although al-Assad comes from a relatively obscure sect of Shiite Muslim origin and his regime has been largely secular, Iran has increasingly seen the fight against him in sectarian terms: a Shiite Muslim versus Sunni Muslim battle - which, by all accounts from Syria, it is increasingly, confusingly, turning into.
Reports said that Soleimani had met with Nechirvan Barzani, the head of the KDP and current president of Iraqi Kurdistan and that he also met with Talabani and Mustafa, albeit not as publicly.
Meanwhile the Change party refused to comment on their relationship with Iran. However as Arez Abdullah, a leading member of the PUK pointed out, the growing popularity of the Change party obliges the two parties – the Change party and Iran – to have good relations.
“Iran is having problems with the West so it’s trying to maintain good relations with the Kurdistan Region,” Abdullah told NIQASH. “It doesn’t want to create another problematic front for itself. Iran has a right to have a close relationship with Iraqi Kurdistan.”
(Picture: Haj Omran / Haj Umran / Haji Omaran border crossing between Kurdistan and Iran)
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