"No military action should be taken in the Kurdistan Region without consultations with security authorities here. The people of the Kurdistan Region protest and reject this action, which violates our internal sovereignty.”

January 11, 2006
Iraq - Kurdish Media - Original Article (English)

Map of Iraq's Kurdish Autonomous Region showing Arbil.

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Statement by the President of the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding the American raid, at dawn today, on the consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Arbil

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 Arbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The consulate was opened after an 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.

[Editor's Note: According to The New York Times, U.S. officials say the office does not have formal diplomatic status ].

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

The people of the Kurdistan Region protest and reject this action, which violates our internal sovereignty. We don't accept that disputes with neighboring countries should be brought onto our soil. We call for the immediate release of those that the Americans arrested.