A top advisor for the Iranian Government, Mohsen Rezaee, announced that his administration had obtained viable intelligence that the United States Central Intelligence Agency had orchestrated the anti Iranian Regime protests alongside the “Barzanis”; referencing the largest Kurdish family/political party in Kurdistan, the KDP or Kurdish Diplomatic Party. On December 28, Iran experienced an eruption of anti-government protests that started in the eastern reaches of the country and spread to western half as well as Iranian Kurdistan, Rojhelat. So far, 21 Iranian citizens have died and near 1000 have been arrested during violent clashes with military and police forces.

The Kurdish Regional Government Department of Foreign Relations responded by denying the accusation made by Iran by affirming that the bold claims were baseless. The head of the KRG DFR, Falah Mustafa, responded by posting on Twitter, “Expressed the concern and objection of [the] KRG to Deputy Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, regarding recent statements from Tehran officials, accusing KRG of involvement in demonstrations in Iran, emphasizing that it contradicts principles of good-neighborly relations.” A spokesperson for the KRG also later responded to the claims by assuring that the KRG has always strived for regional stability and has never condoned hostile action towards a neighboring country.

Mustafa has since met with the Deputy Commanding General of Iran in Erbil, Kurdistan to discuss the allegations but little has surfaced in the way of talks. The Department of Foreign Relations wrote, “The accusations are baseless and this is not the first time that such accusations are [sic] made by high-ranking Iranian officials,”  and, “If he [Rezaee] has evidence, he should reveal them,” in the post meeting readout. Mustafa expressed the administration’s displeasure with the turn of events and claimed they had damaged Iranian-Kurdish relations. In light of that, he asserted that the Kurdish Regional Government’s desired to maintain peaceful and friendly relations with their neighbors and the international community.

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani responded at a press conference to the claims by saying, “We will never become the factor of destabilizing Iran’s security.” On January 4 the protests in Iran ended while the KRG maintained its silence, neglecting to release any official statements on the situation.
 These allegations come at a delicate time between the two nations as Iraq’s Minister of Oil will begin shipping barrels of oil to Iran from Kirkuk around the end of January.
Featured image courtesy of AP