Tehran presents the attack carried out in Erbil on the night of January 15 to 16 as a “ targeted operation ” against ” a spy headquarters “. Kurdish authorities count four dead, including businessman Peshraw Dizayee.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Erbil, Marion Fontenille
The portrait of Peshraw Dizayee, the businessman targeted by Iran, is making headlines in Iraqi Kurdistan. His funeral and that of his barely one-year-old daughter took place this Tuesday in the presence of the former president of the autonomous region of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani.
The final resting place of Peshraw Dizayee and his 11-month-old daughter Zhina – two of the victims of the Iranian missile attack on Erbil. pic.twitter.com/Zt0hAL5IXi
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) January 16, 2024
Black suit, purple tie, smile on your face and in the background, a large office whose walls are covered with paintings. This is one of the photos of Peshraw Dizayee, 61, which has been circulating on social networks and television screens since the attack. The photo of a businessman, multi-millionaire, at the head of the biggest companies in the country. A real estate tycoon, a public figure, especially in Erbil where he was from. A notoriety that he owes in particular to the construction of a luxury residential and commercial mega-project: Empire World.
But Peshraw Dizayee also operated in many other sectors: technology, agriculture, oil and security. So many investments and projects managed by the Falcon group of which he was the founder and president. Peshraw Dizayee was close to the Barzani clan, the leaders of the ruling party, the PDK, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, whose ranks he joined in 1988. Firstly to fight against the regime of Saddam Hussein. Then from 2003, as Security Advisor to the Minister of Public Works.
It was a year later that he founded his company, becoming the key player in private security, including for the American army. The Iranians accuse him of links with Israeli intelligence services and of supplying Israel with oil from Iraqi Kurdistan. On the side of the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, the official line does not budge: they condemn the attacks targeting civilians.
Read alsoIran strikes ‘terrorist targets’ in Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria