Turkey’s political scene has erupted into a heated debate over images showing guards armed with rifles walking through a southeastern town as they accompanied Masoud Barzani, the former president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, during a visit.
The footage from Cizre in Şırnak province drew harsh criticism from Turkish nationalists, a sharp response from Barzani’s office and a public defense of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkey’s interior ministry has launched an investigation into how the visit was handled.
Barzani, who leads the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), attended the fourth International Melayê Cizîrî Symposium in Cizre on November 29. The event, organized with the support of the Şırnak Governor’s Office, honored a classical Kurdish poet and brought together Turkish and Kurdish officials and academics.
Footage showed Barzani moving through the town with a security detail in military-style uniforms, wearing patches linked to the Kurdistan region and carrying rifles. The images spread quickly across Turkish social media and television.
Bahçeli, Barzani trade barbs
MHP leader Bahçeli, whose far-right party is a key ally of Erdoğan’s ruling party, was among the first to react.
“On our homeland, foreign uniformed soldiers walking around with long-barreled weapons is, in one word, a disgrace,” Bahçeli said, arguing that the scene violated Turkey’s sovereignty.
Barzani’s KDP issued a sharp response posted on X.
Response to Devlet Bahçeli’s statement on President Barzani’s visit to Cizire
Devlet Bahçeli’s remarks regarding President Barzani’s visit to Cizire and participation in the “Melaye Cizire ” Symposium were, regrettably, expressed in a chauvinistic tone that contradicts… pic.twitter.com/CrDZrlpOqi
— KDP ForeignRelations (@kdpfro) December 2, 2025
“We had hoped [Bahçeli] had turned the page on racism and chauvinism; however, his latest remarks suggest otherwise — the same old ‘Gray Wolf,’ now in sheep’s clothing.”
The Gray Wolf is a long-standing ultranationalist symbol associated with the MHP.
The statement accused Bahçeli of racism and said all security arrangements were made under protocol agreements between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government. It also noted that Turkish leaders visit the Kurdistan region with their own armed guards.
Erdoğan defends Bahçeli, calls remarks ‘disrespectful’
Erdoğan sided with Bahçeli and condemned the tone of Barzani’s office.
“We absolutely do not approve of and cannot accept yesterday’s disrespectful and out-of-line statement that targeted Mr Bahçeli,” Erdoğan said. “The necessary diplomatic steps have been taken. This serious mistake must be corrected without delay.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry had already issued a written protest, calling the statement “unacceptable in both content and tone” and requesting an explanation from KDP leaders.
The interior ministry said it had opened an investigation into the images and assigned two inspectors.
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik said the footage was “unpleasant” and confirmed that the ministry was examining how the visit was handled.
Presidential adviser Mustafa Akış also criticized the scene, saying Turkey is not a weak state and that even visiting presidents do not move around Turkish cities with armed guards in military-style uniforms.
Under Turkey’s usual protocol, foreign security teams coordinate with the foreign and interior ministry authorities, keep weapons restricted to pistols and avoid wearing uniforms that resemble military or special forces attire.
Nationalist opposition escalates criticism
The nationalist Good (İYİ) Party leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu also condemned the visit and criticized the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) for describing Barzani as a “host” in Cizre.
“Do not let this be forgotten. The DEM Party said he is a host here. Has the district of Cizre in Şırnak province been annexed by northern Iraq without us knowing it?” Dervişoğlu said.
Barzani remains the most influential figure in the KDP, which dominates politics in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Turkey and the KDP have close ties: Oil flows from northern Iraq to Turkey’s Ceyhan port, Turkish companies take major contracts and Turkish troops operate in KDP-controlled areas against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Visit comes amid fragile peace efforts
Barzani’s visit came during a sensitive moment in Ankara’s renewed effort to end its decades-long conflict with the PKK. PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has sent messages supporting a new roadmap, Kurdish groups have declared a ceasefire, and the government has outlined plans for a broader political process involving parliament and civil society.
Barzani and the KDP support the PKK’s disbandment and say the Kurdish question must be settled through democratic means. His appearance alongside Turkish officials in Cizre was widely viewed by Kurds as a symbolic gesture of support for dialogue at a time when many districts in the region carry deep scars from past clashes.
But for many nationalists, the sight of uniformed Kurdish guards with rifles walking through a Turkish border town means that the state is conceding too much ground.
Barzani took part in an earlier peace process as well. In 2013 he appeared with Erdoğan at a rally in Diyarbakır and called for an end to armed conflict. In Cizre last week he again spoke about peace, saying “The door of peace is the best choice.”