Iran’s Missile Attacks on Erbil Were ‘Due to Talks on Gas Transfer with Israeli Participation’
Several Iraqi and Turkish officials say one of the main reasons for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile attacks on Erbil was the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s plan to export gas to Turkey and Europe with Israeli assistance.
About two weeks ago, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the missile attacks on Erbil, asserting that the Guard’s “precision-guided” missiles had targeted a “Zionist” strategic center.
More than 12 missiles fired by the Guard targeted the villa of a Kurdish businessman active in the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector.
An Iraqi security official, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters, said that two recent meetings had been held at the villa between officials and energy sector experts aimed at transferring Kurdish gas to Turkey through a new pipeline.
A “senior Iranian security official” also told Reuters that these attacks were “a multi-purpose message to many people and groups,” and that no Israeli plan, from the energy sector to agriculture, would be realized.
Two Turkish officials confirmed talks between American and Israeli officials regarding the transfer of Iraqi gas to Turkey and Europe, but expressed lack of knowledge about where these talks took place.
An anonymous Iraqi security official and a former U.S. official familiar with the plan told Reuters that Bazikrim Barzanji, owner of the villa destroyed by the Guard, was active in developing this new gas export pipeline.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed lack of knowledge on the matter, and Barzanji did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries.
The office of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, denied any talks between American and Israeli officials at Barzanji’s villa. Iraqi Kurds say Israel has no military or official presence in their region.
In recent months, Turkey and Israel have taken steps to improve relations and cooperation in the energy sector. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last month that his country and Israel could cooperate to transfer Israeli gas to Europe. He has also held meetings with Israel’s president and the president of the Kurdistan Region.
Two-thirds of Kurdistan’s oil pipelines are controlled by Russia’s Rosneft company, and the remaining third is managed under a lease agreement by the “Car Group” company with Bazikrim Barzanji as chief executive.
The Guard’s missile attacks on Erbil were condemned by the heads of Iraq’s three branches of government, Iraqi Kurdish political parties and figures, and major regional countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt.
Senior officials of the Joe Biden administration also strongly condemned the attacks as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a threat to civilians, emphasizing that no American citizens or facilities were harmed in the attacks, and that attacks against Washington’s consulate in Erbil did not occur.
Source: Voice of America
