Bahrain Mirror- Reuters: Iran halted flights to and from Kurdish regions in northern Iraq on Sunday in retaliation to a plan by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence. It also started wargames at the Kurdish border.

The air embargo is the first concrete retaliatory measure against Monday's Kurdish referendum which is rejected by the government in Baghdad and by Iraq's powerful neighbors, Iran and Turkey.

Iranian authorities stopped air traffic to the international airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniya, in Iraqi Kurdistan, upon a request from Baghdad, Fars News Agency said.

Tehran and Ankara fear the spread of separatism to their own Kurds. Iran also supports Shi‘ite groups who have been ruling or holding key security and government positions in Iraq since the 2003 U.S-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.

Turkey, meanwhile, said on Sunday its aircraft launched strikes against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq's Gara region on Saturday after spotting militants preparing to attack Turkish military outposts on the border.

"Turkey will never ever tolerate any status change or any new formations on its southern borders," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. "The KRG will be primarily responsible for the probable developments after this referendum.

The KRG has resisted calls to delay the referendum by the United Nations, the United States and Britain who fear it could further destabilize the region.

Arabic Version