Zarif congratulates Barzani on election as KRG president

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif congratulated Nechirvan Barzani on his election as the new president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

According to Tasnim news agency, in a telephone conversation on Wednesday evening, the top Iranian diplomat also wished success for Barzani and the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

The Iraqi Kurdish parliament on Tuesday elected Nechirvan Barzani, the son-in-law of veteran Leader Masoud Barzani, as president of the autonomous region.

The deputy leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won 68 votes from the 81 members present in the 111-seat chamber.

Last year, the KDP emerged as the largest bloc in the parliament following the September 30 election with 45 seats.

Nechirvan Barzani is the second person to hold the office of president. It was occupied by his uncle from its creation in 2005 until late 2017, when he quit following a separation referendum opposed by Baghdad.

ME