France warns of sanctioning Turkey, Iran over attacks on Iraq’s territory

France might impose sanctions on Turkey and Iran “if necessary” over the two countries’ attacks on Iraq’s territory, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.

“If necessary, we might take sanctions. We already did in the past,” Colonna told Rudaw on Tuesday.

Colonna said France is “really concerned” and talking with both Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) over the developments.

France also talks to those “responsible for these actions,” she added.

Turkey on Nov.19 has launched an aerial offensive into Northern Iraq and Syria targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian affiliate Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in response to a bomb attack in Istanbul, killing six people on Nov.13. Accusing PKK and YPG over the attack, Ankara has been since conducting airstrikes targeting the two groups’ bases in the region, also signalling a ground offensive. Iran on the other hand, has recently increased its cross-border operations into Northern Iraq, targeting Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups who blames of weaponizing the Mahsa Amini protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday reiterated Paris’ support for the stability of Iraq during the Baghdad Conference held in Jordan, Rudaw added. He urged the neighboring countries to respect Baghdad’s sovereignty.