Iraq's Kurdistan PM urges continued US presence in the region
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On the night of January 15, the IRGC launched ten ballistic missiles targeting a Mossad spy headquarters in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
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Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, Feb. 16, 2023 (AP)
Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday that the ballistic missile strike carried out by Iran on Erbil during the night of January 15 underscores Iraq's ongoing susceptibility to "terrorism."
As a result of this, Barzani stressed the continued necessity for the presence of the US occupation forces in the region.
On the night of January 15, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ten ballistic missiles targeting a Mossad spy headquarters in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
While attending the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Barzani condemned the attack by the IRGC, which resulted in the death of at least four individuals.
A recent terrorist attack in the city of Kerman in Iran earlier this month claimed the lives of nearly a hundred people.
Read more: Kerman suicide bomber was Israeli-Tajik: Iran's Intelligence
Despite this, Barzani called the IRGC's attack "unjustified" and called on US troops to remain stationed in the country amid calls among Parliament members to expel US troops from Iraq.
"These attacks and hostilities against the Kurdistan Region are without reason and are unjustified. We at the Kurdistan Region have done all we can to provide more services for our people and develop our relations with neighboring countries in a peaceful manner," claimed Barzani during a presser.
"We don't think that terrorism has ended, and last night's event is an indication that instability in the region is still very much at stake and that we need international cooperation and support to bring more stability to Iraq and the Region as a whole," he added.
Since 2014, US and proxy forces have been stationed in Iraq under the pretext of combatting ISIS.
US forces have exploited the situation to engage in frequent looting of Syrian oil and acquire Iraqi oil at a discounted price.
On January 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani expressed a desire for a swift and orderly negotiated exit of the US military forces from Iraq, citing the diminished significance of the ISIS threat.
He characterized the US military presence as destabilizing, especially after a US strike targeted a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) commander in Baghdad.
Read more: Kheibar-Shekan: the state-of-the-art missile that pounded ISIS, Mossad
