Erdogan says Turkey, Iran and Iraq will decide on closing n. Iraq's oil taps

ANKARA - Turkey, Iran and Iraq will jointly decide on closing the flow of oil from northern Iraq, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Thursday, a retaliatory move after the Kurdish region voted for independence.

Erdogan, who was speaking to Turkish media including broadcasters NTV and CNN Turk on his return flight from a one-day trip to Iran, also criticised the inclusion of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the referendum, saying that Kurds had no legitimacy there.

Iran and Turkey have already threatened to join Baghdad in imposing economic sanctions on Iraqi Kurdistan and have launched joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on their borders after northern Iraq's independence referendum last month.

Last month, Russian oil major Rosneft clinched a gas pipeline deal in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe. The pipeline will be constructed in 2019 and exports will begin in 2020.