2024-01-22T14:05:49+00:00
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/ Tehran Chamber of Commerce expressed its “deep regret” on Monday over Erbil Chamber of Commerce’s call for traders and individuals to boycott Iranian goods, stressing the need for continued economic cooperation between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Iran.
“Following the recent military developments in the region, the Erbil Chamber of Commerce in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has asked businessmen and individuals to boycott the import and use of Iranian products,” Tehran Chamber of Commerce said in a statement carried by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) and translated by Agency, stressing that “this issue is a cause for deep regret.”
The Iranian statement referred to what it called “the ancient historical ties and thousands of years of cultural relations between the two countries from society and merchants,” calling on Iran and Iraq not to forget the long suffering “to achieve today’s heritage and to take into consideration developing bilateral cooperation with an open heart through and adhering to common ties.”
The statement added that this is not the first time that the world of politics has put these historical relations and ties to the test, noting that “we, along with the Iraqi people, tell ourselves that we are ready to flourish from these experiences (…) but we must admit that the existence of this precious treasure requires a high standard of character and courage.”
The statement added that the volume of trade between businessmen in Iran and the Kurdistan Region amounts to about 3 billion dollars annually, which indicates the enthusiasm of both sides to expand the borders of peace and friendship.
Last week, following the Iranian ballistic missile attack on unarmed civilians in Erbil, the Erbil Chamber of Commerce called on merchants to boycott Iranian products.
For its part, the Duhok Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced last Saturday that it is carefully studying the search for alternatives to Iranian products by relying on local products and goods and importing from other countries to secure the necessary needs for Duhok Governorate and the Kurdistan Region.
The Chamber said in a statement received by Agency, “We condemn this attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran on the city of Erbil, and we call on citizens and merchants throughout the Kurdistan Region to boycott Iranian products and not to buy or import them, even though the region, especially the city of Erbil, is an important market for consuming Iranian products and to suspend all trade relations with it.”
The statement added, “The aim of this attack is nothing but to distort and undermine the security and stability enjoyed by the Kurdistan Region.”
Last Monday, January 16, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched a violent bombardment with ballistic missiles targeting civilian areas in the city of Erbil, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of 10 civilians.
The Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the strikes, saying they came “in response to the crimes of the Zionist regime against the Islamic Republic, the latest of which was the killing of a number of Guards commanders by Zionist fire. A major Mossad spy headquarters in the Kurdistan region of Iraq was targeted and destroyed by ballistic missiles.”
The Kurdistan Regional Security Council considered the missile attack launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which targeted civilian areas in the city of Erbil, a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the region and Iraq as a whole.”