A referendum on the independence of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region has been approved by an overwhelming majority, the election commission said on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions between Baghdad and Erbil.
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On Monday, people in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence in a non-binding referendum that was aimed at arming Mr Barzani with territorial bargaining chips.
The voter turnout was 72 percent, with 3.35 million people taking part in the referendum, according to official data.
Kurdish officials said the referendum passed easily, but the official count isn’t expected before Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated on Tuesday he would mull severing ties with Israel if the Jewish state does not withdraw its support for an independent Kurdish state.
Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the State Department, told reporters on Tuesday that they consider the Kurdistan vote as “unilateral” and they are deeply disappointed the vote went ahead despite opposition from the U.S. and other countries.
Turkey told Iraq it would deal only with the Iraqi government on crude-oil exports, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said on September 28.
The Kurdistan Regional Government says it will give it a mandate for talks to secede, although Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, ruled out such talks.
The director of Erbil International Airport, Talar Fayaq, described the decision to halt flights to the region as “wrong and illegal”. Regional powers Iran and Turkey have also strongly opposed the vote.
In Tehran, the Iranian parliament announced it would hold a closed-door meeting on the referendum.
In Iran, thousands of Kurds poured into the streets in the cities of Baneh, Saghez and Sanandaj on Monday night.
Kirkuk, a multiethnic oil-rich region, has been under the control of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters since 2014, when the Iraqi Army fled in the face of Islamic State militants. The US State Department [official website] has expressed [press release] disappointment that the vote was conducted.
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The United States, United Kingdom and the United Nations also warned the KRG against holding the referendum, citing fears that it could detract from the campaign against ISIS.
