'Iran closes borders with Kurdistan to respect Baghdad sovereignty'

Iran's Government Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht underlined that the country has closed its borders and airspace to the Iraqi Kurdistan region after the referendum to respect the Iraqi government's sovereignty.

Closure of borders was put into effect to respect the "important issue of the Iraqi government's sovereignty right which is highly important to Iran", Nobakht told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.

Expressing concern that certain parts of Syria and Iraq are still controlled by the terrorists, he said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t confirm anything which distorts solidarity in the fight against the terrorists."

Nobakht stressed that the closure of the borders with the Iraqi Kurdistan region is a problem which will be resolved in a short period of time.

In defiance of Iraq’s stiff opposition, Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held a non-binding referendum on September 25 on secession from the central government in Baghdad.

While much of the international community, including the United Nations, the European Union and Iraq’s neighbors, has opposed the referendum, only the Zionist regime of Israel has openly supported an independent Kurdish state.

Regional players Iran and Turkey have opposed the Kurdish referendum in Iraq, warning that the controversial vote could lead to further instability in the entire Middle East.

EA