THE SAFE ENVIRONMENT IS NO LONGER SO.” TO WHAT EXTENT HAS ERBIL’S TOURISM AND ECONOMY BEEN AFFECTED BY THE IRANIAN BOMBING?
The expert in economic and tourism affairs, Sirwan Ibrahim, confirmed today, Monday (January 22, 2024), that Erbil has been, during the past period, a stop for tourists and businessmen from countries around the world who want to establish projects in Iraq and make Erbil their headquarters and depart from there to other governorates.
Ibrahim told “Baghdad Today” that “Erbil was a station for holding seminars, workshops, and courses for international organizations,” noting that “all of these matters contribute to reviving the tourism sector, as they use hotels, restaurants, markets, and the city’s airport.”
While he noted, “If this conflict continues, it will decline further because tourists will search for other alternatives, in addition to the bad economic situation that the city in particular and the region in general is going through.”
Ibrahim pointed out that “a citizen who visits a city for tourism, the first thing he asks about is security stability, because he does not want anything to confuse his tourist trip, but with the continued bombing operations with marches and missiles, the percentage of tourism in Erbil has declined.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani confirmed today, Monday (January 22, 2024), that targeting the Mossad headquarters in Erbil came to punish those who aggressed against Iran’s security and was not an act against Iraq.
Kanaani said in a press conference followed by “Baghdad Today” that “the concentration and gathering of Zionist elements and Mossad elements to work against Iranian national security in the Kurdistan region of Iraq is unacceptable.”
He stressed, “In recent years, there have been threats to our national security from the Kurdistan region of Iraq,” adding, “Our security is a red line.”
Kanaani continued, “Iranian-Iraqi relations are strong and solid, and the two countries enjoy comprehensive cooperation in various fields,” stressing that “our relations with Iraq are strong and Iran is the greatest defender of Iraq’s independence and sovereignty.”
On January 16, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched a violent bombardment with ballistic missiles targeting civilian areas in Erbil, which led to 10 civilians being killed or wounded.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council considered the missile bombardment a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the region and all of Iraq.
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