RNA – In an interview with Rasa News Agency, Sayyid Hashim al-Musawi, the spokesperson for Iraq’s al-Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba [the Movement of the Party of God’s Nobles], a major Shi’ah resistance group, referred to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s referendum on independence, which began on September 25th, as an “ethnic project” and added, “The West has failed to fulfill its pre-planned objectives with al-Qaedah and Daesh. Today, they are attempting to fulfill their objectives through another option, which is option to divide Iraq and Syrian Kurds.”
He called the position of all the Iraqi movements against Kurdistan’s referendum as a single position and stated, “Without doubt, the Iraqi people will defend the integrity of their country. This nation will never allow the division of Iraq and the creation of a second Israel.”
al-Musawi emphasized that the American opposition to the independence of Kurdistan is due to their political hypocrisy and added, “American behaviour and statements are absolutely contradictory. While claiming that they are opposed to the referendum, they supported the dictatorship of the Kurdistan Region in recent years. Not only the United States, even some Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are also seeking to divide Iraq.”
He added, “If Masoud Barzani [the President of Iraqi Kurdistan] divides the Iraqi Kurdistan then some Sunni people will take the path toward division. As a result, we will see the emergence of intelligence agencies and Western forces in these areas to encircle Iran and the Resistance Axis.”
Kirkuk must be placed under the control of Iraqi forces
The spokesperson for al-Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba stressed that talking to Barzani in the current situation is useless and called for a decisive stance by the central Iraqi government against the Kurdish separatists and added, “In the current situation, Barzani is only seeking party and personal interests. His party must not be allowed to exploit the exceptional status of Iraq today.”
al-Musawi continued, “Disputed areas like Kirkuk must be placed under the control of Iraqi forces and the Kurds should return to the borders of 2003 as soon as possible.”
The member of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq emphasized that the Iraqi Kurdistan Region has contributed more than its share of the Iraqi budget in recent years and added, “The presence of Kurdish politicians in the Iraqi government is also very high. They had control of 17% of Iraq’s budget but still illegally exported oil.”
The threats by Iran and Turkey are very serious
Regarding the opposition of Iraq’s neighbors to Kurdistan’s independence, he said that Iran and Turkey’s threats to the Kurdistan Region are very serious and added, “If they think that after Kurdistan’s independence, Iran, Turkey and Iraq will cope with the reality, they have made a miscalculation. Even the United States will not be able to secure the recognition of a country called Kurdistan in the near future.”
al-Musawi described the project to divide Iraq as a preliminary step for the division of the region and explained, “The enemies are seeking to extend this issue to the political atmosphere of Iran, Turkey and Syria. Just as they have supported the Kurdish militants in Syria, their support for the Kurdistan project is also very likely.”
The senior member of the al-Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba emphasized on resistance to the Zionist-American plan and said, “If the Sykes-Picot Agreement was allowed to be implemented in the past due to some neglect and lack of work, the Islamic Resistance movement will not allow it to be repeated.”
In conclusion, al-Musawi stressed, “Be assured that the Islamic Resistance, in the same way that it was able to neutralize the Takfiri project, would defeat the plan to divide the region and Islamic countries based on religious and tribal issues.”
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