KURDISH REACTION TO RAID ON IRANIAN OFFICE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000150

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINS PREL KMDR IZ IR
SUBJECT: KURDISH REACTION TO RAID ON IRANIAN OFFICE
OVERSHADOWS PRESIDENT BUSH'S SPEECH

(U) Classified By: Regional Coordinator James Yellin for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is an Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Reconstruction
Team (RRT) cable.


2. (U) Summary: Kurdish press and government officials
reacted on January 12 to an early-morning security operation
by Coalition Forces in Erbil the previous day in which five
Iranians were taken for questioning. Incorrectly describing
the building at which the security operation took place as an
Iranian Consulate, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
President Massoud Barzani and other KRG officials condemned
the operation as a violation of Kurdish sovereignty and
called for the release of the Iranians. Commentaries in
Kurdish news and blog websites accused the U. S. of bringing
its conflict with Iran to the Kurdistan Region, and expressed
fear of an increase in terrorist acts in the region.


3. (C) Privately, officials of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP),the party of KRG President Massoud Barzani, and
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),the party of Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani, differed in their assessment of the
operation. KDP officials were more concerned with what they
said was a lack of coordination between Coalition and Kurdish
security forces, with some officials saying if they had been
told about the operation they would have assisted in its
execution. PUK officials, on the other hand, have been
actively cultivating a relationship with Iran, and fear this
operation signals a broader U. S. effort against Iran in the
Kurdistan Region in light of the speech by President Bush on
January 10. End Summary.

Media Reaction: KRG Officials Condemn the Operation
-------------- --------------


4. (U) At a time when President Bush,s speech on the new
Iraq strategy was expected to make headlines, the press was
dominated on January 12 by news of an early morning security
operation by Coalition Forces in Erbil in which five Iranians
suspected of activities against Coalition Forces and Iraqi
citizens were taken for questioning.


5. (SBU) Kurdish newspapers and television carried an
official statement from the office of the KRG President,
Massoud Barzani, on January 12 that condemned &the American
action against the official consulate8 of Iran as a
violation of Kurdish sovereignty. It said, &No military
action should be taken in the Kurdistan Region without
consultations with security authorities here.8 (Note: The
Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the office was an
Iranian &liaison office8 that does not have full consular
status. End note.)


6. (U) The KRG Presidential Chief-of-Staff, Dr. Fouad
Hussain, described the work of the liaison office on
Kurdistan TV, saying it provides consular services and helps
Iranians in the region. He said that Iranian officials had
been &kidnapped8 and called for their release.

Media: U. S. Conflict with Iran Comes to Kurdistan
-------------- --------------


7. (U) The newspapers &Khabat8 (Kurdish) and &Attaakhi8
(Arabic),both run by the KDP, carried an editorial echoing
these statements and saying the U. S. should not bring its
conflict with Iran to Kurdistan: &The Kurdish people don,t
accept any political issue to be resolved on our land. The
issue is between Iran and America.8


8. (U) Commentaries on independent Kurdish news and blog
web sites characterized the operation as an opening salvo in
Bush,s new Iraq strategy which aims to limit the influence
of Iran in Iraq. The website &Kurdistan Press8 posted a
commentary that defended the humanitarian nature of the
Iranian &consulate8 in Erbil. The commentary predicted
that if the U. S. brings its conflict with Iran to Kurdish
soil it will also bring more terrorists to Kurdistan.


9. (U) The Kurdish-nationalist website &Kurdistan Post8
carried a piece saying the U. S. was not only delivering a
message to Iran with this operation, but also to Kurdish
leaders. It said, &By raiding the consulate, America is
giving a very clear statement to Barzani and Talabani, You
are either with us or with the terrorists.8

Private Reaction: KDP Disturbed by Lack of Coordination
-------------- --------------


10. (S) KDP Officials publicly condemned the operation, but

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in private were less concerned about the nature and targets
of the operation. No friends of the Iranians, their chief
complaint was the lack of coordination between Coalition and
local security forces, which they say produced confusion that
could have been avoided. KDP Minister of Interior Karim
Sinjari described to Regional Coordinator a brief but tense
standoff between Coalition Forces and the Zerivan, an elite
group of Kurdish special security forces, just prior to the
departure of Coalition Forces from the area.


11. (S) Commenting on both the security operation and the
subsequent standoff, Sinjari said the situation was &very
bad.8 He continued, &We are your friends8 and we could
have helped you if we knew what you were doing.8 KRG head
of Foreign Relations Falah Bakir said, &Such incidents can
inadvertently lead to bloodshed. If we had been asked to
help we would have provided help.8 He said the situation
was an embarrassment and an insult to the KRG.

Private Reaction: PUK Fears Damage to Relations with Iran
-------------- --------------


12. (C) Head of PUK Foreign Relations Hewa Jaff told RRT
PAO on January 11 that PUK officials are speculating this
operation signals the start of a broader U. S. effort against
Iran that could have negative consequences for PUK relations
with their Iranian neighbors. (Note: PUK officials have
been actively cultivating a relationship with Iran. On
January 10, for example, Iraqi President Talabani--who as
noted above is also the head of the PUK--met with an Iranian
delegation and among other things concluded a deal to import
from Iran to Sulaimaniyah Province 1.2 million liters of
critically needed fuel each month this winter.)


13. (C) Jaff said PUK officials fear the U. S. wants to
&start the fight with Iran from here (Kurdistan).8 He said
the PUK will need to protect their fuel deal with Iran by
distancing themselves from the operations.

Private Reaction: Proof That ISG Report &Is Dead8
-------------- --------------


14. (SBU) A number of local contacts say that Kurds are
shocked by this incident, which they say disrupts the
relative quiet and sense of security enjoyed in the Kurdistan
Region. In their discussions over the operation, they echo
sentiments expressed by KRG officials in the media. Ordinary
Kurds are speculating that there could be a series of similar
operations that will place Kurdistan at the unwelcome center
of the U. S.-Iran conflict. They are calling for a release
of the Iranian &detainees8 and an apology for damage done
to Kurdish pride.


15. (SBU) Some Kurds are expressing the view that this
operation, taken together with the speech by President Bush
on January 10, is a more positive signal that Bush will not
be held to the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group Report
in his new Iraq strategy. These Kurds say the security
operation carries out his promise to limit Iranian
destabilizing influence in Iraq and rejecting the call in the
report to enter into a dialog with the Iranians. These Kurds
welcome the action and hope Bush will reject other elements
of the report, such as the call for a delay in implementing
the referendum on the status of Kirkuk. One Kurd commented,
&This action shows that the Baker-Hamilton Report is dead.8

Full Text of Official KRG Statement on January 11
-------------- --------------


16. (U) Begin Text:

The Presidency and the Kurdistan Regional Government express
their dismay and condemnation of the American action against
the official consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in
Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The consulate
was opened by agreement between the governments of Iraq and
the Islamic Republic of Iran, and enjoys immunity and
protection under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations.

Unlike other parts of Iraq, the Kurdistan Region enjoys
safety, security, stability and the rule of law. The US
action does not conform to the policy of attempting to spread
security and stability throughout all of Iraq. No military
action should be taken in the Kurdistan Region without
consultations with security authorities here.

The people of the Kurdistan Region protest against and reject
this action which violates our internal sovereignty. We do
not accept that disputes with our neighboring countries

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should be brought onto our soil. We call for the immediate
release of those arrested. End Text.
KHALILZAD