Tillerson asks Barzani to postpone Iraqi Kurdish referendum

President Masoud Barzani of the semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdish Republic was asked Friday by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to postpone the Kurdish independent referendum set for Sept. 25, because it would distract from such urgent priorities as the war on the Islamic State. The referendum also faces opposition from Iran, Turkey and the Iraqi government, Barazani told Tillerson that the KRG had decided to take its fate in its own hands after its efforts to coexist with Iraq had failed and no alternatives or guarantees for determining the fate of the Kurdish people remains.