Azizi: There is no doubt that we cannot ignore Erbil and Tehran’s interests, since the KRG and Iran have common borders and have to deal with each other, and we respect these relations. Therefore, we are not against those interests, and we will not conduct any armed attack against the Islamic Republic from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. What happens is inside Iran, many people are armed inside the country and the [Iranian] peshmerga has political activities and moves inside the country.
Al-Monitor: So you are not under pressure?
Azizi: In fact, there are no such pressures on us, but it is normal for the KRG to inform us that we cannot use its land to launch attacks against Iran. This demand is valid, as it is related to the security of the two countries’ borders, so we will refrain from attacking Iran.
Al-Monitor: After the latest fighting in Iran — that most politicians and media outlets are saying was triggered by a peshmerga attack, while you say that it was the result of an Iranian ambush — the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) requested you to withdraw your peshmerga forces from Iran. What was your response?
Azizi: The PUK political bureau has not officially requested this from our bureau until now. It didn’t ask me either to withdraw the peshmerga forces. But it is normal for few PUK cadres to contact our cadres and tell them that such moves are against its interests. However, we have not received any official request.
Al-Monitor: Has any PUK leader or bureau requested you to withdraw your peshmerga forces?
Azizi: I did not receive any official requests from the PUK; since there is no official request, there will be no official response.
Al-Monitor: Media reports say that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Iranian Kurdish peshmerga forces are contributing in the war against IS to protect Iraqi Kurdistan. Are your peshmerga forces currently contributing to the war effort?
Azizi: When IS attacked Kurdish areas, we issued a statement expressing our support to Kurdistan against IS. If Iraqi Kurdistan sees that it needs our peshmerga on the front lines, we will be ready. But we will not send our peshmerga forces without a request, given the legal system in Iraqi Kurdistan, its regional interests and relations. When it deems it necessary, it will ask for our help, but for now we think it is not the right thing to do without an official request.
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