“The mighty central government of Iraq will return Erbil to the united Iraq easier than Kirkuk, just within minutes,” reads the latest tweet of Iranian Parliament's General Director for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The Iranian official made the remarks on Wednesday touching upon the latest developments in northern Iraq.
During the fights against ISIL held areas in north of Iraq, Peshmerga forces commanded by the local authority of Iraqi Kurdistan Region took control of Kirkuk, an oil rich province of Iraq bordered with Kurdish provinces.
In the next move, Erbil started selling oil to Turkey without the permission of Iraqi central government and then in September 25, Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan held a referendum of independence in Kirkuk as well as Kurdish provinces. The move simmered the tensions between the central government in Baghdad and Erbil based KRG while the poll also drew strong objection from Iraq’s neighbors and the international community.
Within hours on Monday, the Kurdish militia abandoned the oil fields of Kirkuk upon the approach of Iraqi army. The swift operation shocked many observers around the world.
The Kurdish forces left several other cities in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk without any confrontation as all oil facilities came under Baghdad’s control. The Peshmerga moved into Kirkuk following the offensive of ISIL terrorists in northern Iraq in 2014.
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