Khamenei's Advisor Warns Barzani About Cooperation with Saudi Arabia Against Iran

The senior military advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei accused the Saudi consulate in the Kurdistan region of Iraq of providing military support to armed groups opposing the Islamic Republic, threatening regional officials that if they "enter this political game," Iran will no longer assist them. According to Fars News Agency, Yahya Rahim Safavi stated that relations with the "Talabani" faction in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are good, but relations with the "Barzani" faction are not. He expressed concern about the region's agreements with Israel, suggesting that it might lead to a divergence from the central Iraqi government. Masoud Barzani is the president of the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the most powerful party in the region. Jalal Talabani was the former president of Iraq and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan; he suffered a stroke four years ago and returned to Sulaymaniyah after treatment abroad, but currently seems to have little role in the leadership of the union. Iran supported Kurdish groups opposing the Iraqi government during Saddam Hussein's regime. Rahim Safavi remarked, "The Barzanis allow the Saudi consulate in northern Iraq to arm Iranian counter-revolutionaries, and we warn them about this; the Barzanis should know they are indebted to Iran." He added, "The Kurds of Iraq are Aryan and have Iranian roots... but they should know that if they enter this political game, it is uncertain whether Iran will help them again." Additionally, according to ISNA, Mr. Rahim Safavi stated that it is unlikely the Kurdistan region of Iraq will achieve success "without Iran's support, as they are somewhat landlocked and have only air routes." He emphasized that the Islamic State group had advanced "close to Erbil," the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and that the Islamic Republic "saved Erbil." Previously, several high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Shamkhani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council, had accused Saudi Arabia of attempting to create insecurity in eastern and western Iran and of "sending weapons" and supporting "terrorist groups" in the region. In this context, Mohsen Rezaei, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, had accused Saudi Arabia of establishing a "military base" in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. He also claimed that Saudi Arabia had set up a base in Pakistan's Balochistan to "destabilize" Iran's eastern borders. In recent months, the Islamic Republic has accused its Kurdish opposition parties of organizing armed activities to serve Saudi Arabia's goals, which these parties have denied. The western provinces of Iran have also witnessed an escalation of clashes between Iranian security forces and armed groups opposing the Islamic Republic, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and the PJAK group. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, led by Mostafa Hejri, had previously announced its intention to resume its armed presence in Iranian Kurdistan and initiate a new phase of activities against the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, officials from the Kurdistan region of Iraq emphasized in meetings with Islamic Republic officials that they would not allow Kurdish opposition parties to create security challenges for the Islamic Republic from the territory of the Kurdistan region. Following these clashes, reports emerged of shelling in border areas between "the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Iranian Kurdistan," and Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, expressed his "deep concern" over this action by Iran. In this context, a military official described Saudi Arabia as a "priority threat" against the Islamic Republic. Clashes between military forces and armed groups in Kurdistan and Kermanshah have been reported, with the military branch of "Kodar" announcing the deaths of "several members of the IRGC" and the "third round of artillery attacks by the IRGC" on the Kurdistan region of Iraq.