Kurdistan region worried as U.S. and Iran tensions grow
(Worthy News) – The United States ordered its non-emergency government employees to leave its Baghdad embassy and the consulate in Erbil on Wednesday. Erbil is the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and locals are concerned that US-Iran tensions will now engulf the Kurdish region at a sensitive time. The Kurdistan region is strategically important and has been a center of security in the area between the Iraqi central government, Turkey and Iran.
Over the last two weeks, the US has warned of Iranian threats across the region and that any attacks by Iran or its proxies will result in retaliation. According to reports, the US has also shared information with Baghdad and with European allies that indicate direct Iranian threats in Iraq. For instance, a BBC Arabic report said that Pompeo had handed Iraqis evidence of Iranian plans, and other reports indicated Iranian-backed Shia militias had deployed missiles in Iraq.
The Kurdistan region knows Iran’s capabilities well. Last September, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at Iranian Kurdish dissident groups in northern Iraq’s Koya. For years, some Kurdish groups that oppose the regime in Tehran have been based in northern Iraq. Iran has warned that any moves by those groups will be met with force. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]