Iraq strongly condemns Iranian attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan region

Iraq on Monday strongly condemned Iran’s cross-border bombardments on Iranian Kurdish opposition parties’ positions in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

“The repeated attacks carried out by Iranian and Turkish forces with missiles and drones on the Kurdistan region are a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and an act that contravenes international covenants and laws that regulate relations between countries,” the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The lands of Iraq “are not a base or a corridor to harm any of the neighboring countries,” the ministry statement reaffirmed the Iraqi government’s stance.

“Iraq is also not an arena for conflicts and settling scores for external parties,” the statement added.

Earlier in the day, a Kurdish security source told Xinhua that one person was killed and at least seven others wounded when Iranian forces used ballistic missiles and drones to attack the opposition militants’ bases in Sulaymaniyah Province and Erbil Province in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

A statement by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemned “in the strongest terms” the Iranian attacks on the Kurdish region.

“Iran’s repeated violations of the sovereignty of Iraq and its Kurdistan region are inexcusable and a serious infringement of international law and neighborly relations,” the KRG statement said.

Also on Monday, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) called for the cessation of the “repeated attacks violating Iraqi sovereignty.”

“Whatever external score a neighboring country is seeking to settle, the use of established diplomatic instruments is the only way forward,” UNAMI said in a statement.