PUK Official: Turkey, Israel Not to Remain Loyal to Iraqi Kurds

"Instead of supporting the Kurds, it is better for the Israelis to settle the Palestinians' problems and the Kurds shouldn’t trust Turkey and Israel since they will betray the Kurds," Murad told FNA on Saturday.

He also rejected claims that the Kurdish officials are seeking to form a Kurdish government against Iran and other regional states, and said, "We don’t seek to impair regional security."

"When we are in conditions that we don’t have proper economic infrastructures and our neighbors don’t agree with it, we cannot establish a Kurdish government," Murad underlined.

In relevant remarks today, the Iranian foreign ministry condemned the remarks and attempts made to sow discord among the Iraqi people, and underlined that the Iraqi nation would never allow the plots hatched to disintegrate their country to succeed.

"Iraq's constitution has the capacity to meet the demands of all the country's people and we have no doubt that every Iraqi national is seeking to protect his/her country's integrity and the Iraqi people will never accept their country's disintegration," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Saturday.

She underscored the Islamic Republic of Iran's support for Iraq's unity and integrity, and said, "Undoubtedly, the vigilant Iraqi people won't allow the plots and inexperienced dreams of the Zionist regime and the enemies of Iraq to come true."

President of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani has recently said that he wants to hold a referendum on full independence of his region. His remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the de-facto independence of Iraqi Kurds, citing the “collapse” of Iraq amid the foreign-backed terrorist campaign in the country by the al-Qaeda-linked ISIL Takfiri militants.

Netanyahu further urged support for the “Kurdish aspiration for independence”.

In response, senior Iranian officials warned of the US and Israeli plots to disintegrate Iraq, and cautioned certain actors in the region that speaking about Iraq's separation is equal to playing in enemies' court.

"Given the recent position taken by Netanyahu on supporting the Iraqi Kurdistan's independence, any steps taken in this regard will implement the Zionist regime's special goals in the region," Chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Tuesday.

He said anyone who speaks of Iraq's disintegration, he/she is playing in the enemies' court.

Boroujerdi underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran is sensitively and seriously opposed to the disintegration of any Muslim state, adding that maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity is an unavoidable necessity.

Also in the same day, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian expressed concern about the situation in Iraq, and said that the US is trying to create a chaotic atmosphere in the Arab country similar to what it did in Ukraine.

"The events in Iraq are following a plan by the United States to turn the country into a second Ukraine," Reuters quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying in Moscow.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister pointed to Iraq's incidents, and said, "What is going on in Iraq is a psychological and media war by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to make the country insecure."

Amir Abdollahian noted that Iran is ready to help Iraq if requested by the country, and said, "Iraq has not asked for Iran's help, but Tehran is ready to dispatch weapons to Iraq within the framework of fighting terrorism."

He reiterated that if the Iraqi ministry to fight terrorism calls for foreign aid Iran will provide such supports in accordance with the international laws.

Also last week, Hamid Aboutalebi, the Iranian President's Deputy Chief of Staff compared Iraq's present conditions with Ukraine's conditions before the separation of Crimea, and said, "I caution the Iraqi statesmen to take lesson from Ukraine's recent political developments."

He further noted that if the Iraqi people and leaders do not show sufficient wisdom and do not take warnings as serious, Iraq will face a similar fate like Ukraine.