A new film portraying Iran’s former Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani as saving Iraqi Kurdistan during the Islamic State’s incursion in 2014 has angered the Kurdistan Regional Government, which has lodged a formal complaint with Tehran over what it calls “distorted facts.”

“Unfortunately the film has not done any justice to the sacrifices of Peshmergas nor to the Iranian units,” head of the KRG’s foreign relations department Safeen Dizayee told Al-Monitor, referring to the military force of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The nine-minute film, titled “A story about the rescue of Iraqi Kurdistan by Haj Qasem Soleimani,” was released this week by Iran’s FarsNews, a state-owned media outlet tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the film, KRG President Masoud Barzani appeals to allies for protection during his country's war with IS. Director Mohammad Baqir Mofidi Kia suggests that Erbil would have fallen without the help of Soleimani, a statement disputed by KRG officials. 

Many Peshmerga that fought on the front lines are still alive today, and Dizayee said that they see the film as an “insult and belittling the role of Peshmergas.”