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No matter how much Iran is keeping the Kurdish issue under control, Tehran is naturally concerned about the ongoing independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan. This is the reason why Turkey and Iran, having numerous differences, share a close stance on the Kurdish independence vote, an Armenian expert said on Monday.

Speaking to Panorama.am, Armen Israelyan, a Yerevan-based expert on Iranian studies, explained that, however, the stances of Ankara and Tehran evidently duffer in this respect. “Turkey has adopted a tougher stance on the issue. As far as Iran is concerned, President Hassan Rouhani has held consultations with both the Turkish and Russian presidents and the Iraqi PM regarding the independence vote,” he said.

The expert noted that the Iranian president has spoken out against the referendum during all the discussions, citing the inviolability of the borders in the region. “Facing a separatism threat inside the country, Iran naturally would oppose all the processes around borders that can lead to the formation of a new state,” the expert stressed.

In Armen Israelyan’s words, the rights of Iranian Kurds are at a better state then the ones granted to the Kurds in Turkey.

“The Kurdish-related issues possible to emerge in Turkey cannot be observed in Iran. According to some experts, this might stem from the fact that the Kurds are Persian speaking people and that Kurdistan has been a part of historical Iran,” Mr.  Israelyan noted.

The expert expressed conviction that Iran will try to strain ties neither with Baghdad nor with the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan in coming future amid the serious regional shifts following the independence vote.