TEHRAN (IRNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Wednesday that what has been published by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Iraq in general is against international laws and principles.

Kurdish Commemorative Stamp

Pope Francis landed in Baghdad on March 5 for a three-day historic and first-ever visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where he met with senior officials and leaders.

In reaction to a question about the stamps in the KRG, Iraq, Khatibzadeh stressed that it is clear what has been published in the public is against international principles and rules.

He stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran while protesting the Iraqi government, has called for the immediate reversing this “unfriendly action”.

On the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq’s Northern Provinces, the Ministry of Transport of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq published some commemorative stamps that, according to Tehran “not only have not replaced Arabic as Iraq’s first official language on stamps but also included a fake map on it.”

Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs on Wednesday also has slammed the KRG over the commemorative stamps with a map of greater Kurdistan calling on Kurdish authorities to correct the “grave” mistake.

Indeed, the map represents the Greater Kurdistan, so called by Kurdish nationalists, which encompasses territories in Iran and Turkey.