Iran delegation meets Iraqi Kurdish officials to mend ties after Erbil missile attack

An Iranian delegation met with officials from the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq after arriving on Sunday, only weeks after Tehran claimed responsibility for missiles targeting the city of Erbil.

The delegation, headed by Iran's former ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaeifar, met with the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Massoud Barzani and a number of other senior officials during their two-day visit.

Reports said the two sides discussed issues of common interest and the latest regional developments.

Last month, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards launched 12 ballistic missiles on what appeared to be a residential area in Erbil, the capital city of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

It claimed the missile attacks were in revenge for Israeli attacks on Iran allegedly launched from Erbil in mid-February and warned of more attacks to come.

Iraq’s Kurdistan region, unlike the central Iraqi government in Baghdad, has strong informal ties with Israel, despite not establishing formal relations.

When the Kurdish region held a referendum on independence in 2017, Israel expressed support for an independent Kurdish state.