Iran is expanding its influence in the Kurdistan region of Iraq following the US withdrawal.
The Kurdistan Region in Iraq is gradually returning to the era of two governments that officially ended in 2006, after the Kurdish Democratic Party (PUK) withdrew from the Kurdistan Regional Government and its leaders began to establish a de facto separate government in Sulaimaniyah, reports The Cradle.
The timing is related to the US withdrawal from Kurdistan on September 30. Since then, uneasiness has spread in Kurdish political circles, rekindling fears of abandonment.
At the same time, it seems that Iran is strengthening its involvement in the region to fill the void that has been created. Regional analysts note that Iran changed its position after an unannounced pledge by the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) to dismantle the armed presence of Kurdish-Iranian opposition groups in the region. The latest sign of this came on November 8, when a senior member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) visited Kurdistan Region President Nachirvan Barzani, in a statement that emphasized security cooperation and regional stability.
The change comes as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi tries to distance Iraq from a new war between the US and Iran. He visited Tehran a few days ago for talks with the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bakr Kalibaf, and on November 6, he told President Donald Trump in a phone call that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to attack neighboring countries. Earlier there were also reports of Iranian units moving towards the border with the Kurdistan Region.