Peregraf
During his official visit to Iran for the Tehran Dialogue Forum, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani delivered a speech that balanced warm acknowledgments of Kurdish-Iranian ties with pointed criticism of Baghdad’s failure to implement Iraq’s constitutional federalism.
Speaking on Sunday in a bilateral conversation with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, Barzani described the Kurdistan Region’s relationship with Iran as "historic," underscoring mutual cultural, economic, and political interests. "Day by day, these relations are developing," he said, reaffirming the Kurdistan Region’s commitment to close cooperation with the Islamic Republic.
The President’s remarks included gratitude for Iran’s role in supporting Kurdish forces during the war against ISIS. "Iran was one of the first countries to help us," he said, crediting Tehran with consistently standing by the Kurdistan Region in times of crisis.
Barzani’s trip to Iran—his third in under a year—comes amid ongoing political and budgetary tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq’s federal authorities. Addressing these issues head-on, Barzani used the international platform in Tehran to voice frustration over what he called Baghdad’s resistance to genuine federalism.
"Iraq is constitutionally a federal state," he said. "But in practice, we have not seen this federalism realized." He warned that without a return to constitutional principles, disputes between Erbil and Baghdad would persist.
"We must sit together and define the framework of the new Iraq," Barzani said, reiterating previous criticisms that "Iraq’s current centralized governance contradicts the spirit of the post-2005 constitutional order".
His comments echoed sentiments he expressed earlier this year at the Erbil Forum, where he called Iraq’s political culture "excessively central," arguing such centralism is unparalleled globally.
Barzani’s visit also included scheduled meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose first foreign visit in September 2024, included both Baghdad and Erbil. Barzani noted he had personally requested the Iranian leader to extend that visit to the Kurdistan Region.
Despite the generally stable ties between Erbil and Tehran, Barzani indirectly addressed tensions caused by Iranian cross-border attacks on Kurdish opposition groups and alleged Israeli intelligence sites. Reaffirming Erbil’s position, he stated unequivocally: "The Kurdistan Region’s territory has not and will not be a source of threat for Iran."
While acknowledging Iran’s economic and political support—citing comments from an April forum in Sulaimani in which he called Iran a contributor to the Kurdistan Region’s "success"—Barzani walked a diplomatic tightrope. His remarks highlighted the Kurdistan Region’s reliance on regional allies like Iran while calling out Baghdad’s political inertia.
The visit, held at the invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, reinforces Barzani’s ongoing efforts to maintain the Kurdistan Region’s strategic partnerships abroad, even as internal disagreements with Iraq’s central government remain unresolved.