MESOP : BLINDNESS MADE IN UNITED STATES – U.S. unaware of Iran’s plans to build missile base in Iraqi Kurdistan / U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby

WASHINGTON,— nrttv + State Government US – 1 June 2016 – The US authorities have no information on alleged plans by the Iranian government to build a missile base in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing on Tuesday.The spokesperson argued that the Iranian government has been trying to exert influence in Iraq and underscored the need for Tehran to closely coordinate its actions with Baghdad and get approval of the the Iraqi authorities.“I’m not aware of such plans,” Kirby stated. “That’s the first I’ve heard of this.”

“If they are going to involve themselves in Iraq… we don’t want to see anybody, even the closes of neighbors, involve themselves in such a way that further inflames sectarian tensions, that further make the situation in Iraq any harder than it already is.” Kirby added.

Last week, Arabic media reported that Tehran has launched construction of the largest missile base in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range in Iraqi Kurdistan, which reportedly aims to protect the religious borders of Iran.

Chairman of the Peshmerga in the Kurdistan region’s parliament and a member of the Supreme Committee of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan office organizations Dler Mustafa denied the existence of any Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military base.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Mustafa said: “We do not have any information on the subject.”

Meanwhile the border guards’ third Brigade, who are part of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, said media reports of an Iranian anti-missile base and military base in the area of Said Sadiq in the Sulaimani Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan were false. The head of the Border Guards’ Third Brigade said in a statement on Tuesday that “All the reports published [about an Iranian military presence inside Iraq] are untrue. We insist that there are no Iranian troops in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, especially areas we are supervising.”“The public in Kurdistan should not believe this kind of rumor,” he added. Media reports have stated the Iranian government wants to create an anti-missile base in the area of Said Sadiq. www.mesop.de