Latest news with #Sadr
Rudaw Net
6 days ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Baghdad says Erbil's demand for more domestic oil delays export restart
Also in Iraq Sadr expels 31 affiliates for defying elections boycott Drone downed near Peshmerga position in Kirkuk Iraq's top court to hear key cases on delayed Kurdistan salaries Over 700 daily overflights as Iraqi airspace fully recovers post-tensions A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's oil minister said on Saturday that Erbil is demanding more oil for domestic consumption and this is delaying the resumption of Kurdish oil exports. Erbil initially agreed to receive 46,000 barrels of oil per day for internal consumption, but 'the Region is now requesting it be 65,000, thus violating the budget law,' Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani told Iraqi state media. Kurdistan Region's oil exports have been suspended since 2023. Erbil and Baghdad have had multiple rounds of negotiations to hammer out an agreement that would see the exports resume via the pipeline through Turkey. 'Almost all clauses have been agreed upon except this one, and we hope that in the final stages the Region will accept the quantity that was agreed upon between the federal and regional financial audit bureaus in order to implement the agreement,' Ghani said. Under the Iraqi budget, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is required to hand over 400,000 barrels per day to the federal government's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). Ghani said the federal government has informed both Turkish and Kurdish sides of its readiness to resume exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, adding that 'Turkey is ready,' but Baghdad is still 'waiting for our brothers in the Region to deliver this quantity of oil.' He noted that Iraq is currently losing around 300,000 barrels per day, as the Region's production is counted within the country's OPEC quota 'despite the federal government not benefiting from it.' The halt in exports and disputes with Baghdad have put an enormous financial strain on the KRG, which has lost more than $25 billion in oil revenues. Erbil is not able to pay its civil servants and is dependent on funds from Baghdad. In May, Iraq's federal finance ministry halted all budget transfers to the KRG, including payments for public employee salaries, claiming the KRG had exceeded its share of federal budget funds and failed to deliver its oil to SOMO. Public sector workers have not been paid since. Dilshad Mawani, an oil and gas expert, told Rudaw on Saturday that an escrow account could be a viable option in this situation. An escrow is a financial arrangement in which a neutral third party holds funds or assets on behalf of two parties until predetermined conditions of a contract are fulfilled. 'Escrow accounts… can be an option so that operations or investment don't stop… when there is no political agreement or… no important political decision or a decision from a court to resolve one of the matters,' he said.
Rudaw Net
6 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Sadr expels 31 affiliates for defying elections boycott
Also in Iraq Baghdad says Erbil's demand for more domestic oil delays export restart Drone downed near Peshmerga position in Kirkuk Iraq's top court to hear key cases on delayed Kurdistan salaries Over 700 daily overflights as Iraqi airspace fully recovers post-tensions A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday expelled 31 members from his National Shiite Movement - formerly the Sadrist Movement - and its affiliated armed wing, Saraya al-Salam, for defying his orders and joining electoral lists ahead of the country's November 11 parliamentary elections. The move comes amid Sadr's continued boycott of the vote. In a statement accompanying the list of expelled individuals, Sadr wrote: 'I distance myself from all of them, just as they have distanced themselves from us,' referring to candidates from the movement and brigades who had registered despite his directive to abstain. Many of those removed were affiliated with rival political factions within the Shiite-led Coordination Framework, as well as electoral lists backed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani and Deputy Parliament Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi. Since late March, Sadr has firmly reiterated his refusal to participate in the 2025 legislative elections, denouncing the process as deeply compromised by 'corruption.' Responding in writing to a supporter's question about the movement's electoral role in the vote, the cleric declared, 'So long as corruption is prevalent, I will not participate in a flawed electoral process.' More recently, in early July, Sadr reaffirmed his stance, calling for sweeping reforms, including disarmament of armed groups, the restoration of state authority and accountability for corruption. Of note, in Iraq's last elections in October 2021, Sadr's bloc won a plurality, securing 73 of 329 parliamentary seats. However, a prolonged deadlock with the Coordination Framework over forming a government led Sadr to withdraw his lawmakers from parliament, effectively ending his bloc's formal political engagement.
Rudaw Net
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraq installs speed cameras, records 10,000 violations in first day
Also in Iraq Sadr reaffirms boycott of Iraqi election Kurdish farmer disappears in Kirkuk, ISIS suspected Erbil-Kirkuk road reopens after Turkmen protests over appointment of Kurdish official Makhmour camp residents warn of 'humanitarian catastrophe' amid blockade A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's traffic authorities installed speed cameras in Baghdad for the first time on Tuesday, recording 10,000 violations on the first day alone. The government also plans to expand the initiative to other provinces, an official said on Thursday. Haydar Shakir, media director of Iraq's general directorate of traffic police, told Rudaw that they have installed speed cameras in five intersections in the Rusafa district of Baghdad. He added that the project will extend to all streets in the capital within a year. In just the first 24 hours alone, more than 10,000 violations were recorded. Speed cameras have long been in place in most areas of the Kurdistan Region. Previously, vehicles with Kurdistan Region license plates were not fined in federally controlled areas, but this has now changed. 'We have a unit called the Follow-up and Coordination Unit in the General Directorate of Traffic, through which information is exchanged between us and the Kurdistan Region,' the Iraqi official said, adding that 'any traffic violation committed in Baghdad will be dealt with based on the information that the Kurdistan Region requests." Regarding the fine amounts, the official said: 'Crossing pedestrian lines and making illegal right turns is 50,000 dinars, using mobile phones while driving is 100,000 dinars, driving in the wrong direction is 200,000 dinars, running a red light is 200,000 dinars, and window tinting carries a fine of 200,000 dinars.' One US dollar is worth nearly 1,400 Iraqi dinars. According to Shakir, if a driver pays the fine within 72 hours after the violation, the fine will be reduced by half. If the fine is not paid within one month after recording the violation, the amount will be doubled.
Rudaw Net
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Sadr reaffirms boycott of Iraqi election
Also in Iraq Kurdish farmer disappears in Kirkuk, ISIS suspected Iraq installs speed cameras, records 10,000 violations in first day Erbil-Kirkuk road reopens after Turkmen protests over appointment of Kurdish official Makhmour camp residents warn of 'humanitarian catastrophe' amid blockade A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday reiterated his decision to boycott Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November. He called for reforms to political and security structures, including the disarmament of militias. 'Whoever wants to boycott, let them boycott, and whoever wants to pursue the lust for power as their path, let them do so, but justice will not be established,' Sadr said in a statement. 'Falsehood will not be repelled, except by surrendering uncontrolled weapons to the hands of the state, dissolving militias, strengthening the army and police, guaranteeing Iraq's independence and non-dependence, and serious pursuit of reform and holding the corrupt accountable,' he added. Sadr first announced his intention to boycott the 2025 legislative elections in March, citing widespread corruption. In April, he rejected a formal invitation from Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid to reverse his decision, saying he 'will not participate with the corrupt, the insolent, and the enemies of the people.' In Iraq's October 2021 elections, Sadr's bloc emerged as the largest, winning 73 out of 329 parliamentary seats. However, a year-long political stalemate with the Shiite-led Coordination Framework over government formation prompted Sadr to withdraw his lawmakers from parliament. His attempt to form a government with Kurdish and Sunni parties was blocked by the Framework, which insisted on maintaining Iraq's post-2003 consensus model that balances power between the major groups. Sadr fueled speculation about a political comeback in early March when he hosted around 200 former Sadrist parliamentarians at his residence in Najaf. Shortly afterward, he urged supporters to prepare for the vote, warning that poor electoral choices could worsen corruption and poverty. In mid-February, Sadr called on his supporters to update their voter registration records. However, former Sadrist lawmaker Rafi Abduljabbar Azzawi told Rudaw at the time that this move did not necessarily signal a reversal of the boycott, but rather an effort to mobilize Iraqis for what Sadr described as a critical period.
Iraqi News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Sadr supporters protest in Baghdad against Israel's war with Iran
Baghdad – Thousands of supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr rallied Friday in Baghdad and other cities against Israel's war with Iran, AFP correspondents said. 'No to Israel! No to America!' chanted demonstrators gathered after Friday prayers in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Moqtada Sadr's stronghold in the capital, holding umbrellas to shield themselves from Iraq's scorching summer sun. 'It is an unjust war… Israel has no right' to hit Iran, said protester Abu Hussein. 'Israel is not in it for the (Iranian) nuclear (program). What Israel and the Americans want is to dominate the Middle East,' added the 54-year-old taxi driver. He said he hoped Iran would come out of the war victorious, and that Iraq should support its neighbour 'with money, weapons and protests'. In Iraq's southern city of Basra, around 2,000 people demonstrated after the prayers, according to an AFP correspondent. Cleric Qusai al-Assadi, 43, denounced Israel's use of Iraqi airspace to bomb Iran. 'It is a violation of Iraq's sovereignty,' he said, warning against 'a third world war against Islam.' Echoing the views of Sadr, Assadi said that Iraq should not be dragged into the conflict. In a statement earlier this week, Sadr condemned 'the Zionist and American terrorism' and the 'aggression against neighbouring Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen', referring to Israel's military operations in those countries. Sadr, who once led a militia fighting US-led forces after the 2003 invasion, retains a devoted following of millions among the country's majority community of Shiite Muslims, and wields great influence over Iraqi politics. He has previously criticised Tehran-backed Iraqi armed factions, who have threatened US interests in the region if the United States were to join Israel in its war against Iran. On Friday, Israel launched a surprise attack targeting Iran's military and nuclear sites and killing top commanders and scientists, saying it was acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran denies having. The assault has prompted Iran to retaliate with barrages of missiles aimed at Israel, with residential areas in both countries suffering. Iraq is both a significant ally of Iran and a strategic partner of Israel's key supporter, the United States, and has for years negotiated a delicate balancing act between the two foes. It has only recently regained a semblance of stability after decades of devastating conflicts and turmoil.
