Abstract

This study investigates Israeli presence in Iraqi Kurdistan and its challenges for the Iran’s national security. Although the informal presence of Israel in Iraqi Kurdistan dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, its presence has been more conspicuous, in the recent years, due to the changes in the international political equations, informal collapse and attenuation of social, geographical, and political Iraqi borders, the opportunities arising from 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the weakening of the central power in Iraq. This has exposed the security of the neighboring countries of Iraqi Kurdistan, especially Iran to unprecedented challenges. With this in mind, this paper is conducted to analyze these challenges using the library and archival research methods and following an analytical approach. Based on the findings, it can be said that the Israeli government, mostly driven by its political isolation amid the regional countries, has been trying to create security and political divergences, undermine the regional powers, and support the Iraqi Kurdish independence and secession of the country, which in turn could influence the Iranian Kurds who may be under the effect of federalism in the Iraqi Kurdistan, and enhance the ethnicity movements in Iran, which can also pose a potential security threat for Iran.

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