Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif addressed a gathering of business people from both Iran and the Iraqi region in Erbil on the same day. He praised the brotherly and historical relations between the two sides and called for closer Tehran-Erbil cooperation, on his word.

The Iranian foreign minister further said that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran would fail to affect and hamper Iran's relations with Iraq's Kurdistan region.

"Sanctions will fail to create an obstacle in the way of expanding economic ties between Iran and Iraq," he said, adding that Iran was "a highly reliable partner" for all of its friends, "particularly Iraq's Kurdistan region."

Zarif also said that the security of the Iran is intertwined with and "inseparable from" that of Kurdistan Iraq(KRG), expressing support for the central government in Baghdad as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

At the same context, Masud Barzani, the head of PKD , the dominant party controlling west of Iraqi KRG, assure in his reception to Zarif, the positive collaborating with Iraqi Federal government and PM AbdulMahdi cabinet to overcome the economical and political bilateral challenges between Baghdad and Erbil.