MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : THE PUK MAN BARHAM SALIH A HELPING HAND OF THE MULLAHS

Iran Seeking Barham Salih’s Help to Revive 1975 Algiers Agreement

Basnews English 18/03/2019 – 14:43 ERBIL — The Iranian government is working to further foster its relations with neighboring Iraq as part of its attempt to cope with the economic and diplomatic hardship at the wake of the US-imposed sanctions.

Following a recent visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and meetings with his counterpart Barham Salih, multiple reports claimed Tehran’s struggle to push Baghdad on reviving the 1975 Algiers Agreement, part of which is designed to create a joint stance against Kurds and their rights.On March 12 after a meeting between Souhani and Iraqi PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Twitter account that “commitment to implement 1975 Treaty” was among the points the sides discussed.

Last Sunday, Iraqi news website al-Akhbar claimed in a report that Rouhani and Salih reached a mutual understanding on Algiers Agreement.The report noted that Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has also confirmed Tehran’s attempt to revive the treaty with Iraq in a recent statement.

The Algiers Agreement was signed by Iran and Iraq in 1975, almost five years after then Iraqi government, for the first time, granted Kurds with part of their rights, including autonomy. The Algiers Agreement was designed to settle border disputes between Iraq and Iran. Another main point of the agreement was to oblige Iran to prevent any assistance to the Kurdish freedom movements in north of Iraq, today’s Kurdistan Region.

Despite the fact that a Kurd is holding the position of Iraqi president today, Kurds in Kurdistan Region are now concerned of another plot that could harm the Kurds. Barham Salih, however, is a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which is known for its close ties to the Iranian government.

On the issue, KRG representative to Iran, Nazim Dabagh, who himself is a member of the PUK, indirectly favored the revival of the Algiers Agreement, believing that it could address several issues also related to the Kurds.

Dabagh explained to BasNews that Iran is hoping to revive the agreement for the sake of the points which serve its own interests.

“A solution to the disputes between Iraq and Iran, based on the international laws, is in favor of the peoples in the region and both the countries. Then, these disputes would not affect the people in Iraq, including Kurds, Arabs and others,” Dabagh pointed out.

“We, as Kurds, no longer have the issues which are included in the [Algiers] agreement,” he claimed.