The story: Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has traveled to Tehran for talks with top Iranian officials. The visit comes amid a growing rift between Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), partly driven by the upcoming elections for the Kurdistan Parliament in Iraq.

Barzani is said to seek Tehran’s support for his push to have the regional polls postponed—despite objections from the PUK, which enjoys close ties with Iran. His meetings also reportedly focused on the presence of Iranian...