ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iranian establishment cannot be changed “through bombings” or “the killing of leaders,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani affirmed in remarks published Friday, adding that the only way forward is through diplomacy. The top Kurdish figure also denied claims that the Kurds were asked to “intervene militarily” in Iran, reasserting that Kurdistan is not a party to the war.
In an interview published Friday by the prominent Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, President Barzani stated that “there is no military solution to the Iranian crisis,” adding that the current establishment cannot be changed “through bombings” and that “even the killing of leaders has achieved little because substitutes are appointed immediately.”
He noted that the Iranian system “is a unique combination of religion and nationalism” and that the 39-day war “has united them.”
President Barzani also stressed that “the only way forward now is diplomacy,” noting that patience is required, given the cultural differences between the Iranian mindset - which is detail-oriented - and the American approach, which seeks rapid resolutions.
The US and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran on February 28, with the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reporting on Tuesday that the operation - dubbed Operation Epic Fury - involved strikes on more than 13,000 targets across Iran, focusing on sites deemed to “pose an imminent threat.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military reported Friday that it carried out nearly 11,000 strikes targeting more than 6,700 components and 4,000 sites in Iran as part of its operation, dubbed Operation Roaring Lion.
In response, Tehran has launched thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as carrying out retaliatory attacks against Israel.
A Pakistan-brokered, two-week ceasefire came into effect Tuesday to allow space for negotiations, which are set to begin in Islamabad on Saturday.
However, uncertainty has emerged over the anticipated talks in the past two days after the Israeli military said Wednesday it had carried out “more than 100” strikes within 10 minutes against what it claimed were positions belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.