BAGHDAD/IRBIL: Baghdad piled pressure on Iraq’s Kurds Wednesday, demanding they cancel their overwhelming vote for independence while Parliament urged the Iraqi central government to send troops to take control of vital oil fields held by Kurdish forces.

Stepping up efforts to isolate autonomous Kurdish-held northern Iraq, which backed secession in a referendum Monday that angered neighboring countries, Baghdad demanded that foreign governments close their diplomatic missions in the Kurdish capital, Irbil.

Final results released Wednesday showed nearly 93 percent in favor of independence, and 7.3 percent against. More than 3.3 million people, or 72 percent of eligible voters, took part in Monday’s ballot, according to the electoral commission.

The referendum has fueled fears of a new regional conflict.

A delegation from Iraq’s armed forces headed to neighboring Iran to coordinate military efforts, apparently as part of retaliatory measures taken by the government in Baghdad following the vote.

Iran and Turkey also oppose any move toward Kurdish secession and their armies have started joint exercises near their borders with Iraqi Kurdistan in recent days.

Iraq and Turkey have also held joint military drills.

Abadi has ordered the Kurdish region to hand over control of its airports to federal authorities by Friday, threatening a flight ban if they refuse. Iraq’s Transport Ministry has ordered international airlines to halt service to Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital, and Sulaimaniyah, its second city, beginning Friday evening.

Airlines from Turkey as well as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon said Wednesday they will, at the request of Baghdad, halt flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan this week until further notice. Low-cost airline FlyDubai says its flights to Irbil are in question from Saturday.

Turkey, which has threatened to impose sanctions on the Kurds, said its border with northern Iraq is still open, although it may not remain so. The number of trucks passing through had however decreased.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have said Iraq’s borders should remain unchanged, will meet in Ankara Thursday.

Russia’s interest in the region is growing. Oil major Rosneft is increasing investment in Kurdistan and the Kurds have been developing strong ties with Moscow.

The Kurds consider Monday’s referendum, which is widely opposed by the international community, to be a historic step in a generations-old quest for a state of their own.

Iraq considers the vote unconstitutional, especially as it was held not only within the Kurdish region itself but also on disputed territory held by Kurds elsewhere in northern Iraq.

The outcome of the referendum has caused anger in Baghdad, where Parliament, in a session boycotted by Kurdish lawmakers, asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send troops to the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk to take control of its oilfields.

Kurdish peshmerga forces took Kirkuk, a multiethnic region, in 2014 when the Iraqi army fled in the face of Daesh (ISIS) militants who overran about a third of Iraq.“The government has to bring back the oilfields of Kirkuk under the control of the Oil Ministry,” the resolution backed by Parliament in Baghdad said.

The area, long claimed by the Kurds, is also home to Turkmen and Arab communities, who opposed the independence vote, although the Kurdistan Regional Government included the area in the referendum.

Barzani, who is KRG president, has said the vote is not binding, but meant to provide a mandate for negotiations with Baghdad and neighboring countries over the peaceful secession of the region from Iraq.

Baghdad has rejected talks.

Abadi is under pressure to take punitive measures against the Kurds. Hard-line Iranian-backed Shiite groups have already threatened to march on Kirkuk.