Iraqi Kurds are opening a new chapter in their relations with Iran, seven months after Tehran sided with Baghdad in crushing their ambition for independence following a 2017 referendum in which nearly 93% of Kurds opted to secede from Iraq.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) hosted an Iranian government trade delegation in Erbil during the fourth economic conference between the two parties on May 2-3 in order to discuss ways of expanding ties. “This conference was an important gathering to expand the economic relations between Iraq and Iran and in particular the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” said Hassan Danaiefar, the former Iranian ambassador to Baghdad and the current head of the committee to expand economic relations between Iran and Iraq.
