Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani yesterday delayed a scheduled news conference on a controversial independence referendum he has called for next week as international pressure mounts for a postponement. There has been uncertainty about whether the vote will go ahead tomorrow as Iraq's key allies the United States and Iran, as well as powerful neighbour Turkey, have stepped up their opposition. On Friday, the Iraqi Kurdish leader had insisted that the vote would be held as planned, despite a warning from the UN Security Council that it was "potentially destabilising".