fuel: A day after Baghdad cut international air links with the region, Iran's state broadcaster said all transport companies and drivers have been ordered to stop carrying fuel products between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan until further notice, according to The Japan Times. Diesel is one of Iran's key exports to the oil-rich region, mainly for power plants and vehicles, while the Kurds rely almost exclusively on crude and fuel oil exports to raise revenues. After the autonomous Kurdish region's controversial yes vote for independence, neighboring Iran announced joint border drills with Iraq and the fuel trade ban. ; In a conciliatory gesture towards the Kurds, however, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday vowed to defend them against any attack. Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted for independence in Monday's non-binding referendum, which has sent regional tensions soaring. A joint military exercise between Iran's armed forces and units from the Iraqi army will be held in the coming days along the shared border, Iranian armed forces spokesman Masoud Jazayeri told reporters in Tehran. Tehran, which strongly opposes independence for Iraq's Kurds, fearing it will provoke separatists among its own Kurdish minority, also announced a joint military exercise with Iraq in response to the referendum.
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