Leaders of Iran, Turkey stress opposition to Kurdish state

TEHRAN – With Turkey's president by his side, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pledged Wednesday that they would ensure borders in the region remain unchanged after the recent Kurdish independence referendum in Iraq.

Both Iran and Turkey opposed the referendum, which overwhelmingly passed last week, and have sent troops to their borders with the Iraqi Kurdish region. Iraq's central government also staunchly opposed the vote.

"We will not accept changing borders in the region," Rouhani said at a news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"A development of this sort will isolate the Kurdish regional government," Erdogan warned. "Our determination in this regard is clear. We correspond with the central government in Iraq and as far as we are concerned, this referendum is illegitimate."