TEHRAN, September 12 - Secretary of Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said that holding referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan region is not lawful.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - “While Iraq is getting close to the final phase of liberating its soil from Takfiri terrorists, such unlawful moves will definitely have an effect on the security of the region, Iraq and Kurdistan region,” he said.
He then said that partitioning based on religious and tribal trends would fail to settle Iraqis problems, adding, “Such moves weakening internal solidarity could lead to new problems and pave the way for misuse of cross-regional powers and their economic and political dominance in the region.”
The Iraqi parliament has voted to oppose a referendum on the independence of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The majority of lawmakers voted against the referendum — planned by the Kurdistan Regional Government — during a parliament session on Tuesday.
The vote prompted Kurdish lawmakers to quit the parliament floor.
Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri said the vote made it incumbent on the government to “take all steps to protect the unity of Iraq and open a serious dialog” with Kurdish officials.
Speaking prior to the vote, MP Ammar Toma warned that the “unconstitutional” referendum would cause security and societal problems in Iraq and push the country into a state of chaos.
The Kurdish referendum is scheduled for September 25, but the central government in Baghdad is opposed to the vote.
Regional players like Iran and Turkey have also voiced concern about the planned referendum, arguing that it could create further instability in the region.