In an interview with Al Jazeera, Masrour Barzani denies any ‘stress’ to enter the Iran warfare regardless of over 1,000 assaults.
Printed On 8 Aug 2026
Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Authorities (KRG) in northern Iraq, says the semi-autonomous Kurdish area doesn’t wish to turn out to be concerned within the ongoing regional battle sparked by america and Israel’s warfare on Iran, including that it helps Baghdad’s efforts to convey weapons below state management.
“No get together has pressured us to become involved within the warfare and we don’t wish to be a celebration to any battle within the area,” Barzani informed Al Jazeera in an unique interview on Saturday.
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The prime minister mentioned the area’s infrastructure has been severely broken by greater than 1,000 missile and drone assaults for the reason that warfare started on February 28, both instantly from Iran or from inside Iraq by way of militias.
Barzani referred to as the assaults “unjustified”, saying that “any difficulty have to be resolved peacefully” via dialogue.
In March, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) focused the al-Harir Air Base close to the regional capital of Erbil with 5 missiles, describing the ability as “the headquarters of the invading US military”.
Barzani mentioned the bottom was empty because it has not hosted US troops for nearly 10 years, since US-led coalition forces defeated ISIL (ISIS) and dismantled its territorial foothold. He added that US troops remained in Erbil to “combat terrorism” and that their presence had repeatedly come below assault.
Barzani additionally mentioned the KRG helps the Iraqi authorities in limiting arms to official forces solely.
In a speech earlier than parliament in Could, Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali a-Zaidi promised that the state can have a monopoly on arms in a rustic the place paramilitary teams have been highly effective for the reason that 2003 US-led warfare on Iraq. The federal government has set a September 30 deadline for all armed factions to disarm and give up their weapons to state management.
Moreover, Barzani informed Al Jazeera that regional authorities preserve no relations with Israel, whereas ties with Syria and Turkiye had been deepening, marked by “mutual cooperation”.
KRG President Nechirvan Barzani this week met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa within the first go to to Syria by an Iraqi Kurdish chief for the reason that fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Iranian Kurdish opposition events have been on excessive alert for the reason that starting of the US-Israeli warfare on Iran. Their bases within the semi-autonomous Kurdish area of Iraq – and inside Iran itself – have been thrust onto the entrance strains of the battle, with the potential for Iranian Kurdish fighters coming into the battle to topple the Iranian authorities being broadly mentioned.
Each US President Donald Trump and Israel have steered that arming these fighters might tip the stability of energy inside Iran, the place Kurds make up about 10 % of the inhabitants.
