Latest news with #KRG-US
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
PM Barzani says Baghdad added new condition to finance agreement
Also in Iraq Iraqi top court rejects lawsuits against major US-KRG energy deals Iraq arrests 11 local officials over deadly mall fire Iraqi top court to hear complaints against KRG-US energy deals Iraq parliament to probe drone attacks on Kurdistan Region A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday said the federal government added a new condition to a newly signed financial and oil agreement, further delaying salary payments to the Region's public servants, now overdue by nearly three months. 'After we agreed to the agreement and negotiated on the proposals… they added another point,' Barzani said during a speech in Erbil. He added that Baghdad now requires the Region to deliver 230,000 barrels of oil per day before releasing salary payments. Barzani's remarks come just days after Iraq's Council of Ministers approved a new deal to resume salary payments and restart Kurdish oil exports. Under the agreement, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must export its entire oil output through Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), keeping 50,000 barrels daily for local use. In return, Baghdad is expected to make budget transfers and provide refined fuel if needed. The KRG is also obligated to hand over 120 billion Iraqi dinars (nearly $92 million) in non-oil revenues monthly for May. 'Until the 230,000 barrels are received, salaries will not be paid,' Barzani said, criticizing the move as unfair given repeated drone attacks that have disrupted oil production. 'On the other hand, those terrorists come and blow up our fields and don't allow oil production, so how can this work?' Since the deal was announced, drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region appear to have ceased. At least 18 strikes were recorded in July, most targeting oil fields operated by international companies. On Wednesday, two more strikes hit oil installations in Duhok province, prompting DNO to suspend operations at Tawke and Gulf Keystone to halt work at Shekhan as a precaution, according to the Erbil-based Counter Terrorism Directorate (CTD). Narmin Maarouf, a Kurdish member of Iraqi parliament's finance committee, told Rudaw on Sunday that Baghdad remains firm in its decision not to transfer funds to Erbil for May salaries until the agreed-upon amount of oil and non-oil revenues is delivered. The KRG blames the attacks on Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an accusation Baghdad rejects. Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to Barzani, said Wednesday that drone attacks by 'criminal militias on the Iraqi government payroll' have cost the Region nearly 200,000 barrels in lost production. He said on Saturday that some of the attacks were launched from Kirkuk province. Barzani also accused the federal government of obstructing regional development by imposing sweeping control over both oil and non-oil revenue. 'They say you shouldn't have any kind of income at all, nothing at all, whatever you have, hand it over to us, so that these kinds of projects cannot be implemented by us,' Barzani said during the inauguration of a major freshwater supply project in Erbil, set to serve 33 neighborhoods for the next three decades. The remarks come as the KRG expands its Runaki initiative, which aims to deliver 24-hour electricity across the Region by 2026. Over two million people are already connected. Meanwhile, Iraq is grappling with its worst water crisis in 80 years, driven by drought and upstream dams in Turkey and Iran that have depleted the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In a related development, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court on Sunday dismissed two lawsuits filed by lawmakers seeking to annul multi-billion-dollar gas deals signed in May between the KRG and US companies HKN Energy and WesternZagros - a cornerstone of the Region's energy and electricity plans.
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Iraqi top court rejects lawsuits against major US-KRG energy deals
Also in Iraq Iraq arrests 11 local officials over deadly mall fire Iraqi top court to hear complaints against KRG-US energy deals Iraq parliament to probe drone attacks on Kurdistan Region Duhok crowned Iraq Cup champions A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's Federal Supreme Court on Sunday dismissed two lawsuits seeking to overturn major multibillion-dollar oil and gas contracts signed in May between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and two American companies, Western Zagros and HKN Energy. The deals, aimed at developing the Miran and Topkhana gas fields, have drawn criticism from Baghdad. The court rejected both cases, with one being 'annulled' and the other 'dismissed,' meaning the contracts remain valid and enforceable, it said in a statement. The lawsuits were filed separately by Iraqi lawmakers Raed al-Maliki and Bassem al-Gharibawi, who argued the agreements violated the Iraqi constitution and posed a threat to 'public funds and property.' The court, however, found the claims legally unsubstantiated and did not rule in favor of nullifying the deals. American firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros signed two major oil and gas deals in May worth $110 billion over their lifespans in the Kurdistan Region. The deals were signed during Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's visit to the US. The deals - while welcomed by Erbil and Washington - prompted a lawsuit from the federal oil ministry, which claimed the contracts violated federal court rulings and the Iraqi constitution. The KRG defended the agreements as extensions of existing contracts that benefit all of Iraq. The complainants further demanded that the Kurdistan Region be prohibited from signing any oil and gas contracts without the consent of the federal government, according to the top court. The deals align with the KRG's Runaki initiative - meaning 'light' in Kurdish - which aims to provide 24-hour electricity across the Region by the end of 2026. The program has already been launched in several cities and neighborhoods.
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Iraq arrests 11 local officials over deadly mall fire
Also in Iraq Iraqi top court to hear complaints against KRG-US energy deals Iraq parliament to probe drone attacks on Kurdistan Region Duhok crowned Iraq Cup champions Iraq launches security operation after drone attacks A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's integrity commission on Sunday arrested 11 local officials, including the former municipal head of the eastern city of Kut, over a devastating fire that killed 63 people in a shopping mall earlier this week. A massive fire at a newly opened shopping mall in Wasit's provincial capital of Kut late Wednesday killed 63 people and sparked outrage from the Iraqi public over lax safety standards. Most deaths were caused by smoke inhalation, with no emergency exits in place for victims to use. 'The team formed by the Wasit Investigation Office was able to implement the judicial arrest against the former director of the Kut municipality due to violations committed in the construction of the Kut Hypermarket Mall,' the integrity commission said in a statement. Authorities also arrested ten local officials in Kut's civil defense and municipality, including the civil defense director and the head of the violations department in the municipality, 'due to the negligence and violations attributed to them,' according to the statement. The five-story building, spanning about 350 square meters, went up in flames on Wednesday night, with the fire starting on the building's second floor. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani vowed on Thursday to 'not show lenience with any negligent party' after ordering an investigation into the tragedy. The government agreed to provide 10 million dinars (around $7,600) in compensation for the family of each victim. The health ministry was also instructed to cover medical treatment for the injured, both inside and outside the country. Wasit Governor Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi accused the hypermarket owner of bypassing regulations and opening the business illegally just two days before the fire. 'The investor opened the project fraudulently, without obtaining any official permits,' he told reporters in a press conference on Thursday. Fires are a recurring threat in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where enforcement of fire and safety regulations is often inadequate. The risk increases significantly during the summer months, when extreme heat exacerbates the potential for electrical faults and other fire hazards. Contributing factors include aging infrastructure, overcrowded public spaces, poor electrical systems, and a widespread lack of basic fire safety measures.
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraq parliament to probe drone attacks on Kurdistan Region
Also in Iraq Iraqi top court to hear complaints against KRG-US energy deals Duhok crowned Iraq Cup champions Iraq launches security operation after drone attacks UK condemns drone attacks in Kurdistan Region A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's parliament will investigate recent drone attacks that primarily targeted Kurdistan Region's oil fields and energy infrastructure. 'Next week we will have a visit as the Security and Defense Committee to learn the details of the incident and who is behind this incident,' Mohammed Rasul, a member of parliament's Security and Defense Committee, told Rudaw on Friday. The military's Joint Operations Command has also begun investigating the types of drones and the bombs and explosives used. In the month of July, there have been at least 18 drone attacks on locations in the Kurdistan Region. Most recently, on Thursday, two explosive-laden drones crashed in Erbil's outskirts, according to the Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD). 'National security and military intelligence need to be brought to the forefront. Everyone should be watchful. Some parties want to create tension in the situation. They want to accuse the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces] and armed groups and other parties,' said Mohammed Rasul, another member of the committee. 'Now a third party is playing its role visibly and is far from the eyes of security agencies,' Rasul added. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has blamed the attacks on Iraq's PMF, a charge Baghdad has denied. On Monday, the Iraqi parliament will convene to discuss the 'terrorist attacks with explosive drones on infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region,' according to the agenda. Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said in a statement on Wednesday that the Region has lost nearly 200,000 barrels of oil production due to the 'spate of drone attacks by criminal militias on the Iraqi government payroll.' The Kurdistan Region's Presidency, Council of Ministers, and Ministry of Natural Resources have all strongly condemned the attacks, describing them as attempts to cripple the Region's vital oil infrastructure. They called on the federal government to hold the perpetrators to account. No group has claimed responsibility. There have been no new attacks since Erbil and Baghdad on Thursday reached a new agreement on finances and oil exports.
