عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
TT
TT

Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Coalition Bases in Northeast Syria on High Alert Amid Fears of Militia Attacks

US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
TT
TT

Coalition Bases in Northeast Syria on High Alert Amid Fears of Militia Attacks

US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.
US Bradley armored vehicles on patrol along the main road connecting Qamishli in the east to Tel Tamr in the west, in Syria’s Hasakah province.

US-led coalition forces in northeastern Syria were placed on high alert Friday following Israel’s military strikes against Iran, amid concerns that Iranian-backed militias in Iraq may retaliate with cross-border attacks.

Military sources reported that coalition bases in al-Hasakah province raised their alert level. Coalition aircraft conducted aerial patrols over the bases and along the Syrian-Iraqi border, anticipating potential attacks from factions aligned with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The precautionary measures come on the heels of Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion,” which targeted senior IRGC figures in Tehran in what Israeli officials described as a preemptive strike. In response, the Iraqi militia Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada warned it could dispatch dozens of suicide bombers to strike US interests if the conflict escalates.

Witnesses in northeastern Syria reported heavy aerial activity over al-Malikiyah and toward the Simelka-Faysh Khabur border crossing with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region early Friday. Troop movements were also observed within coalition bases.

According to local sources, over 100 trucks crossed from Iraq into Syria Thursday night via the al-Waleed border crossing. The convoy reportedly delivered military equipment, vehicles, weapons, fuel, and supplies to coalition bases in Kharab al-Jir, the Rmelan oil field, Kasrak (on the Qamishli-Tel Tamr road), and al-Shaddadi in southern Hasakah.

The heightened readiness follows a recent US decision to reduce its military presence in Syria, including the closure of three coalition facilities in Deir Ezzor province, among them the al-Omar oil field and the Conoco gas plant.

Despite the drawdown, sources say the coalition continues to receive weekly resupply shipments from its bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, maintaining its operations against ISIS cells and sustaining patrols in the region.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a joint operation with coalition forces targeting a suspected ISIS sleeper cell in the town of al-Mansoura, west of Raqqa. Three suspects were arrested, including two senior figures allegedly involved in bomb-making operations. A full curfew was imposed on the area during the raid.

The SDF confirmed it seized weapons, explosive devices, and documents, and vowed to continue its counterterrorism efforts in partnership with the international coalition.

OSZAR »