Kurdish Independence Prospect Cements a Turkish-Iranian Alliance
NOVANEWS
An Iraqi Kurd in Erbil, capital of northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, decorates a car with the Kurdish flag and a poster bearing the image of Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani urging people to vote in the upcoming Sept. 25 referendum on independence for Iraqi Kurdistan, Aug. 30, 2017. (SAFIN HAMED/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
Special Report
By Yavuz Baydar
AS THE CLOCK ticks toward the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence, tensions mount rapidly in neighboring countries. Both Tehran and Ankara will do their utmost to have the September vote blocked, annulled or at least postponed indefinitely.
This joint stand became clear during a top-level Iranian military visit to Ankara by the chief of the general staff of the Iran...