TEHRAN – Massoud Heydar, a Kurdish representative, said on Tuesday that Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence move has been halted after Major General Qassem Soleimani’s tactfulness.

Heydar wrote on his Facebook page that the independence has been halted indefinitely due to the intermediary role of the Iranian commander, which came under the supervision of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Sputnik News reported.

Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region held independence referendum on September 25. Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani turned a cold shoulder to international calls against the referendum.

MH/PA