Tasnim – An adviser to Iran’s parliament said on Saturday that the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (KRG) president’s bid for independence is tantamount to strengthening Daesh (also Known as ISIS or ISIL) and Israel.


“Barzani’s independence bid means boosting Daesh and Tel-Aviv, new regional anarchism, instability, …” Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a message posted on his Twitter account, referring to Iraqi KRG President Masoud Barzani’s move to hold a referendum on the semi-autonomous Kurdish region’s secession from Iraq.

“Strong support for ‘Iraq’s national unity’ is the real support for the ‘Iraqi Kurds’,” added Amir Abdollahian, who formerly served as Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs.

The Iraqi Kurdistan Region went ahead with its plan to hold the referendum on September 25 while Iraq’s neighbors and countries in the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey, had voiced opposition to such a move and supported the Baghdad central government.

Prior to the referendum, the UN Security Council had warned that the secession referendum is potentially “destabilizing” and threatens the ongoing war against Daesh terrorists.