Iraq's supreme court on Monday issued a verdict to stop the independence referendum in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region slated for Sept. 25, a court spokesman said.

Head of the court's media office Ayas al-Samouk said in a statement that the order was issued after deliberation and "in the presence of all of its members."

On Sept. 12, the Iraqi parliament voted to reject the independence referendum of the Kurdish region, but the Kurdish lawmakers walked out of the session in protest of the decision.

On June 7, the Kurdish President Masoud Barzani announced his intention to hold a referendum on the independence of the Kurdish region from Iraq on Sept. 25.

The independence of Kurdistan is expected to be opposed by some countries because it would threaten the integrity of Iraq and because it comes as the Iraqi forces are in fight against terrorism, including the Islamic State militant group.

In addition, the neighboring countries of Turkey, Iran and Syria see that such a step would threaten their territorial integrity, as larger populations of Kurds live in those countries.

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