VOA:

Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government are accusing Iran of playing a key role in the fall of disputed territories in northern Iraq including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a claim rejected by Iranian officials.

This week the Iraqi government forces backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) marched into the Kurdish-controlled disputed territories after Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga withdrew from the region.

"Iranians were leading the battle on Kirkuk and our forces had to withdraw to protect the lives of Peshmerga," Sheikh Jaafar Mustafa, the commander of Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, said in a statement Monday.

Tehran strongly opposed the Kurdish referendum from the beginning and its strongman Ayatollah Khamenei called it a "plot by Zionists."

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