ERBIL - One of the most powerful commanders of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, told a group of reporters on Monday that Kurds asked him ‘to impose authority’ over Kirkuk without specifying which Kurdish political party was responsible for the directive.

Al-Mohandes insinuated that Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was responsible for the events which ensued after a very controversial independence referendum took place on the 25th of September.

“What happened in Kirkuk after the referendum resulted after the unilateral actions of one side and one party. The Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister of the Iraqi forces [Abadi] has said that the authority of the state must be imposed over Kirkuk, and we are now living through these difficult times,” he said.



“We controlled and imposed the authority and sovereignty of the State in Kirkuk in a matter of only hours. We have avoided fighting in the city and only clashed in the outskirts of Kirkuk. We only operated in the surrounding areas of Kirkuk,” he said.



Al-Mohades also claimed, albeit fallaciously, that the PMF forces had gained the popular consent of Kirkuk's residents.



“They asked us to impose the state sovereignty and authority over Kirkuk with the Peshmerga.” He said.



Unlike in other circumstances, Al-Mohandes also avoided distancing the PMF from Iran, and instead opted that Iran and the Kurds have historic ties of mutual solidarity and support.



“Iran is the friend of the Kurds, the commander said. “I have a longstanding relationship with the Kurds and we worked together against Saddam. I was hit in Halabja during the chemical weapons attack,” he said.



“I was also in the areas under the Anfal [genocide]. Saddam destroyed Kurdish villages, we had martyrs fall on the ground defending Kurdistan,” he said.

Al-Mohandes also insisted that until today, Iran and the Kurds were working together hand in hand in the struggle against IS. The official even claimed that it was Iran who saved the Iraqi Kurds. “Iran was the one who prevented Daash [ISIS] from entering Erbil. Barzani himself gave a personal thank you letter to Iran,” he added.



Seen in this light, Al-Mohandes insists, the fall of Kirkuk was a “success”.



“What happened in Kirkuk is a success” he reflected. “For government decisions and the armed forces. And success for everyone, including our brothers from the Peshmerga who cooperated with us,” he said.



The official also hopes that Iraq will have a good relationship with Turkey although they had a problematic one in the past.



“A relationship of tensions doesn’t benefit both peoples,” he said. Moreover, the official said the Turkish support for Iraqi Kurds in the past ‘has given the misconception to some Kurdish leaders that they can rely on them,’ he said.



Masoud Barzani, the former president of the Kurdistan region who stepped down last Sunday, subtly accused the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of treason for the fall of Kirkuk.



“What we not never ever expected was the biggest treason on 16/10/2017 in Kirkuk, by handing over Kirkuk and stabbing in the back. Due to that treason, our defense plan in Kirkuk was undermined" he said.



However, Lahur Talabani, PUK’s Director of Zanyari Agency, told journalists "there was no agreement" between the PUK and Baghdad to allow Iraqi forces to control the disputed territories.



"There was no agreement, no deal. We were told that the Iraqi forces were going to start their offensive on 12th October,” said Talabani.