KRG president, PM both call UAE president after drone attack on Erbil consulate

ERBIL — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani held separate phone calls Tuesday evening with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, condemning the drone attack that landed near the UAE Consulate in Erbil the previous night.

Nechirvan Barzani “strongly condemned the drone attack carried out last night by outlaw groups in Iraq,” according to the Kurdistan Region Presidency, and called on Baghdad to act. He stressed “the need for the Iraqi federal government to carry out its responsibility in protecting diplomatic delegations and to take serious steps to prevent such groups, arrest the perpetrators, and hold them accountable,” describing the attack as a threat to “Iraq’s sovereignty and stability.”

Masrour Barzani’s call covered broader regional developments, with both sides reaffirming “the importance of further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and the United Arab Emirates to navigate the region’s conflicts,” according to the KRG media office. Both condemned the consulate attack, stressing that “such attacks are unacceptable and will not deter the Kurdistan Region from continuing to provide a safe and secure environment for diplomatic missions.”

The Kurdistan Region has faced at least 196 drone, missile and rocket attacks since the war began Feb. 28, killing four people and injuring 19, according to Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan. Of those, 162 struck Erbil governorate, hitting the U.S. Consulate, military bases, the international airport, oil fields, hotels, residential areas, telecom towers and Peshmerga positions.