Iran has stopped all flights to the Kurdish region of Iraqa day before the Kurds' independence vote.
The move is the first concrete retaliation to the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) referendum on independence from Iraq, which is opposed by the national government as well as by powerful neighbors Iran and Turkey.
The Kurdish region has repeatedly ignored calls to cancel the referendum, and the supreme court, which moved to suspend the referendum last week, has little power to implement its order.
The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, said Monday's referendum on independence would not result in an immediate change, but instead would trigger talks with Baghdad about an independent future.
Barzani told VOA's Persian service that following the referendum, which has widespread support among Iraqi Kurds, the Kurdish government would begin discussions with Iraqi officials on such issues as border demarcation, division of natural resources and a timeline for declaring independence. Barzani estimated the transition time would be one to two years.
Turkey, which borders the Iraqi Kurdish region, has strong ties with Barzani, but Ankara has been stepping up its pressure to call off the vote.
VOA's Persian Service contributed to this report.
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