Former US official: Nechirvan Barzani trusted in Washington and Tehran

Shafaq News- Washington

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani is trusted in both Washington and Tehran, a distinction very few people can credibly claim, former US State Department official Thomas Warrick told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Previous mediation efforts have failed to break the impasse, Warrick said. “Washington values President Barzani’s honesty and his understanding of the actors on the Iranian side,” he said, adding that “Tehran may well feel the same about his understanding of Washington.”

Asked whether the Kurdistan Regional Government’s mediation efforts could succeed where earlier efforts by Qatar and Pakistan had stalled, Warrick said, “A fresh perspective is always useful, and President Barzani certainly brings one.” However, the differences between Washington and Tehran are too deep to be bridged by any one person. “I am not optimistic that the conflict will end before the US election on November 3.”

Earlier, Axios reported that Barzani helped establish a secret channel between the US administration and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Citing three sources with direct knowledge of the contacts, Axios reported that the White House turned to Barzani because of his longstanding ties with both Washington and Tehran and his contacts with senior Iranian officials.

For Shafaq News, Mostafa Hashem, Washington, D.C.