BAGHDAD, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held a phone conversation on Monday with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, to discuss a drone attack that targeted the private office of Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.
Hussein noted that while Tehran had justified previous attacks on the grounds that Iranian opposition parties or factions were present in the Kurdistan Region, the latest strike directly targeted the office of the KRG prime minister, which set "a dangerous precedent" that could further escalate tensions and threaten regional stability, according to a ministry statement.
Hussein condemned the attack and requested clarification of Iran's official position regarding the incident, stressing that such acts could have negative repercussions for Iraq's security and regional stability, it said.
For his part, Araghchi expressed surprise about the attack, saying he had no information indicating that the attacks had originated from Iranian territory, read the statement.
Araghchi reaffirmed his country's opposition to any actions that could fuel escalation or undermine stability and pledged to issue an official statement clarifying the Iranian government's position on the incident, the statement added.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi directed the formation of an investigative committee to identify the sources and launching points of the attack.
Barzani said on his X account on Monday that an investigation found that his private office "and the home of the head of the (regional) Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today."
Iraq's Kurdistan region has recently seen a rise in drone and missile attacks amid the ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran. ■
