Given the importance of referendum of Kurdistan region of Iraq and scheduled to take place on 25 of the current September , and its future effects especially on the regional neighbors including Iran , the General”Sardar”Qassem Soleimani paid a secret visit to the Kurdistan region of Iraq on 11 of this September in Arbil , the capital of the Kurdistan region Iraq , Sulaimani met with Massoud Barazani and the members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party , while in Sulaymaniyah city , Soleimani met with members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)and members of the Change movement ( MDC). According to private information obtained by the Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies Qassem Soleimani has informed the Kurdish leadership the rejection of the Iranian government for the Kurdish referendum and stressed that the unity of Iraq is a red line for the Iranian Republic, and told them in the case of the insistence of the Kurds on the referendum, it will lead to disasters and wars and in this case, Republic of Iran will not stand by their side and it will not stay watching on what is happening, because it threatens the strategic interests of Iran and informed them of the refusal of Turkish and the Iraqi government to this move. Qassem Soleimani informed the Kurdish leadership that in the event of retreating from the referendum, the Iranian government will work to improve relations between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil. This visit, which ended “today morning” carried a clear message to the Kurdish leadership about the refusal of the Iranian Republic to the referendum.
Given the importance of the referendum also at the international and regional level, it is, according to information obtained by Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies , it is scheduled tomorrow that US Vice Foreign Minister , in charge of the Iraq dossier and the US ambassador will arrive the region Kurdistan of Iraq and meet the President of the region, Massoud Barzani and officials Kurds to inform them the rejection of the administration of US President Donald Trump to hold the referendum. According to that information, it is also scheduled to visit Hakan Fidan, head of the Turkish intelligence service “Mit” Iraqi Kurdistan to inform the Kurdish leadership the message quite similar to the contents of the message of Qassem Soleimani to them.
According to private information of the Rawabet Center that the issue of the referendum for the region has become more difficult to postpone or cancel, it is now the talk of the town, referendum for the Kurds is not to complete the separation from Iraq as much as would be the disclosure of political situation that may contribute to conduct negotiations with Baghdad government to bring the views closer (convergence of views).
The Iraqi Studies Unit
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies