The Iraqi Kurdish leader says Iran has provided weapons and ammunition to Iraqi Kurdish forces to fight Islamic State (IS) militants.
Masud Barzani, the president of the semiautonomous Kurdish region, made the comment during a joint news conference with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on August 26.
Barzani told reporters in the Kurdish capital, Arbil: "We asked for weapons and Iran was the first country to provide us with weapons."
Zarif said Iran has no troops in Iraq but is assisting Baghdad and the Kurds "through other means."
Iranian media on August 25 quoted the interior minister as saying Tehran had recently provided assistance to Iraqi Kurdish forces, after Kurdish officials asked for help.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been clashing with IS militants, who have taken control of some areas on the periphery of Iraqi Kurdistan.
