TEHRAN, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces' withdrawal from the city of Kirkuk put an end to "a dangerous plot hatched against regional security," a senior Iranian official said Monday.
The objective of Masoud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, was seizing Kirkuk's oil wells in favor of Israel, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by the Tasnim News Agency as saying.
It was "a dangerous plot" in the region, but the Iraqi government powerfully foiled it, Velayati added.
Iraqi security forces on Monday seized more areas and oil installations in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and nearby Diyala, as they advanced to recapture areas from Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
The Iraqi forces recaptured the headquarters of the government-owned North Oil Company and the nearby huge oil and gas field, known as Baba Gurgur, in addition to the town of Laylan near Kirkuk.
Tensions are escalating between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan after the Kurds held a controversial referendum on Sept. 25 in favor of independence of the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas.
