Kurdistan referendum, United States plot to form new Israel in ME: Leader

Iran and Turkey have sternly warned Iraqi Kurds against seceding from Iraq and creating a country independent of Baghdad.

“Iran and Turkey should take every possible measure against the move and the Iraqi government, too, should make decisions and take serious action”, Khamenei added.

Meanwhile, army troops and Iranian-backed Popular Mobilisation Units militia pushed deeper into the well-populated Isis-held pocket of territory, driving the extremists back towards the oil-rich city of Kirkuk – now under the control of Kurdish peshmerga forces.

The Baghdad government, Iran and Turkey all strongly opposed the referendum.

Barzani, who had already capitalized on a split in Talabani’s political party years earlier, saw his power grow as the US -led coalition rushed military aid to his forces to help them battle the extremists.

Hundreds of suspected militants are now being held at a Kurdish intelligence facility in Dibis, about 27 miles northeast of Hawijah.

In a further blow to the Islamic State, about 1,000 of its militants surrendered to Iraqi forces, USA Today reported.

But those quick victories have come at a tremendous cost to Iraqi civilians caught in the crossfire, human rights groups claim.

At a briefing by Macron’s office ahead of the visit, senior officials repeatedly avoided answering questions related to the Kurdish crisis, saying the visit was important to boost bilateral ties, assess the fight against Islamic State and discuss general reconciliation in Iraq.

Talabani died in Germany on Tuesday aged 83, barely a week after an Iraqi Kurdish vote for independence which has deepened divisions between the autonomous Kurdish region and Baghdad.

For its part, Erdogan has emphasized that “Turkey, Iran and Iraq will intensify ir crackdown on this region”.

“In the case of northern Iraq, Iran, Iraq and Turkey will form a tripartite mechanism and will decide on shutting down the oil”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a meeting with leaders from the other two nations on Thursday.

Kurds in northern Iraq last week voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence.

Still, the Kurdish referendum has been an unwelcome distraction for the Western powers focused on the war against IS, forcing military planners to divert resources for “contingencies” that could follow the unresolved dispute, said Dillon.

The battles for Hawijah and Tal Afar mark a dramatic turnaround in the Islamic State’s ability to hold ground and inflict significant damage in Iraq.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was in no-one’s interest to cut off oil supplies from Iraq’s Kurdistan, which would raise oil prices.

The ISI also controls swathes of desert along the Syrian border.

The militants continue to control the border town of al-Qaim and the region surrounding it.