Turkey, Iran influence Iraqi Kurdistan politics
The post-election politics of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is subject to relationships among Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) new cabinet will not solely be determined by the political victors of the Sept. 21 regional elections; Turkey and Iran —the two rival regional powers — continue to exert pressure on this process to protect their interests and allies in the next government.
On Nov. 10, Lvin Press — the leading political independent magazine in Iraqi Kurdistan — reported on a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan by Mohammad Jafari Sahraroudi, an operative of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Kurds in Iran believe Sahraroudi assassinated their historical leader, Abdulrahman Qasimlou — then-president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran — in 1989 in Vienna. The magazine also reported a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan by Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Forces.
Both visits were attributed to the weakened post-election position of Iran's main ally in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which is led by ailing Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Additionally, Barham Salih, Talabani's deputy in the PUK, has been officially invited to Iran to discuss with Iranian officials the new cabinet’s formation, according to Iran's consul in Erbil, Seyid Ezim Husseini.
Meanwhile, on Nov. 10, following Jafari's visit, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani rushed to Turkey to discuss several issues, including strengthening energy cooperation and Syria, with top Turkish officials like Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
