Hawzah News Agency (Qom, Iran) – Speaking at his advanced jurisprudence course in Qom's Grand mosque on Wednesday, senior Shia scholar Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi made some remarks on recent Iraqi Kurdistan referendum for independence.

Addressing Iraqi Kurdistan officials the Shia scholar asserted, "The only group that approved of your independence referendum was the Zionist Regime; as a matter of fact. The US government is also behind these plots but they do not express their stance publicly. This means that Israeli regime is seeking to create a second base in our region."

 The Shia source of emulation added, "Iran will never let the Zionist regime and its affiliates create a second base in our region."

"Turkey also shares borders with Iraqi Kurdistan and their government has even more sensitivity towards Kurdish population and their movements. That's due to the fact that a large Kurdish minority live in Turkey and their government will not tolerate the creation of a Kurdish country."

Grand Ayatollah concluded, "So it's in Kurdish politicians' best interest to solve their issues with central Iraqi government peacefully and stop dreaming about seceding Kurdistan region and establishing an independent country since these dreams will never come true."