Turkey could cut off the crude oil flow from the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, putting further pressure on Kurdistan over what Ankara sees as an illegitimate separatist vote. Turkey—which is vehemently opposing today’s referendum on independence from Iraq that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has called—is crucial to Kurdistan’s oil exports to the world, because most Kurdish oil is moved through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Turkey has the largest Kurdish population in the region and sees the referendum as a serious matter for its own security. Iraq and Iran are also strongly opposing the Kurdish referendum. So are the U.S. and Western European powers, who have called for the vote to be canceled because it could further destabilize the region and distract from efforts to defeat ISIS. The referendum is proceeding, and the President of the […]