ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday held a phone call with US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, with the pair discussing attacks on the Kurdistan Region and US facilities and a recently signed agreement to export Iraqi oil via the Region to Turkey.

The Kurdistan Region has been repeatedly targeted following the launching of a joint US-Israeli military offensive against Iran in late February, with US diplomatic and military installations offering prime targets for Iran and its aligned factions operating in Iraq. Additionally, Kurdish security forces, hotels, and energy infrastructure have been struck.

"They discussed the security challenges and attacks on the Kurdistan Region and US facilities across the Middle East," read a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) statement on the call.

Erbil has repeatedly urged Baghdad to rein in the activities of pro-Iran groups targeting the Region.

In a presser on Tuesday, Prime Minister Barzani stated that the Iraqi government is “responsible” for stopping the proliferation of attacks with the rationale that some of the factions “get their salaries from the federal government and are armed and funded” by Baghdad.

The premier and Waltz also discussed the impact of the "economic crisis" on the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, coming as global energy markets have been disrupted by the regional conflict and ensuing uncertainty regarding the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant proportion of the world's oil flows

"The KRG’s decision to allow oil exports through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline was a step to help ease the economic burden," the statement continued, referencing a recently signed accord that saw Erbil allow Baghdad to use its pipelines to export oil overland to Turkey's Ceyhan port.

"Given the extraordinary circumstances facing the country, and the responsibility we all share to get through this difficult chapter, we have decided to allow oil to flow through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline as soon as possible," Barzani said on Tuesday.

The Sunday call with the US ambassador, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in May 2025 and previously served as a special forces officer, saw the duo reaffirm "the enduring relationship between the United States and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq," the statement concluded.