Iran, Iraq plan joint exercises over controversial Kurdish referendum

the income from Kurdistan’s oil fields, saying the money would be used to pay Kurdish civil servants.

Seeking to control the oil income from the autonomous Kurdish region is central to Al-Abadi’s strategy after the vote.

Al-Abadi tweeted: “Federal government control of oil revenues is in order to pay KR (Kurdistan Region) employee salaries in full.”

A day after Baghdad cut international air links with the region, Iran’s state broadcaster said all transport companies and drivers have been ordered to stop carrying fuel products between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan “until further notice.”

Diesel is one of Iran’s key exports to the oil-rich region, mainly for power plants and vehicles, while the Kurds rely almost exclusively on crude and fuel oil exports to raise revenues.

Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel’s intelligence agency played a role in the vote — allegedly proved by the waving of Israeli flags during celebrations for the “yes” victory.

Erdogan said Turkey had been saddened to see some Iraqi Kurds acclaiming the referendum outcome with Israeli flags.

“This shows one thing, that this administration (in northern Iraq) has a history with Mossad, they are hand-in-hand together,” Erdogan said in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey.

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