Iran Joins Turkey in Condemning Pope's Controversial Kurdistan Map Stamp

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has condemned the stamp featuring a map of Kurdistan, which was presented to Pope Francis during his historic visit to Iraq by the Kurdish leadership of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. According to Ermenihaber, the map includes parts of current Turkey and Iran.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also issued a statement condemning the incident, demanding clarifications from the authorities of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, stated that the depiction of the map on the stamps shown by the leadership of the North Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, which includes regional countries, contradicts international law. He added, “Iran has presented its objections on the matter to the Iraqi government and called for the immediate rectification of this unfriendly action.”

It is noteworthy that Pope Francis's pastoral visit to Iraq began on March 5. The Pope visited Erbil and met with the leadership of the North Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.

The stamp issued on the occasion of the Pope's visit depicted Pope Francis, with a map of “Greater Kurdistan” projected above. This map includes significant portions of the southern and southeastern provinces of the Republic of Turkey, which were historically part of Armenia, as well as part of the northwestern territories of the Islamic Republic of Iran.