Key Takeaways:
- POLITICS: Major Fraud Scheme Trials Concluded; Sudani Visits Spain; Iraqi Leaders Concerned Over Syrian Rebel Advances; New Kurdistan Parliament Sworn In – On November 25, an Iraqi court convicted key suspects involved in the theft of $2.5 billion from government accounts, infamously known as the “heist of the century.” The primary suspect, Nour Zuheir, received a ten-year prison sentence, while others were sentenced to three to six years. These relatively lenient sentences were issued in absentia, as Zuheir and other suspects fled Iraq. The verdicts conclude a high-profile case that has captivated public attention for two years. On November 28, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani and his Interior, Foreign, Trade, and Transportation ministers arrived in Madrid for talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI. Iraq and Spain signed seven agreements covering justice, sovereign credit, trade, anti-corruption, construction, and security cooperation. On December 2, the Coordination Framework warned that recent Syrian rebel advances in Aleppo and other areas represented “terrorist occupation,” emphasizing that Syria’s security is integral to Iraq’s national security. Prime Minister Sudani consulted regional leaders, including Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian, Jordan’s King Abdullah, and Turkish President Erdogan, about containing threats to regional stability. Sudani assured Erdogan that Iraq would not passively observe these developments, stressing respect for Syria’s sovereignty. Syrian opposition leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani responded with a video message assuring Iraq that the fighting in Syria posed no threat and urging against deploying Iraqi militias to aid Assad. Meanwhile, the newly elected Kurdistan Regional Parliament held its first session on December 2. The session adjourned after lawmakers were sworn in, with disputes between major parties over key government positions persisting. The PUK demands either the presidency or premiership. more…
- SECURITY: Militia Attacks on Israel Decline; Iraq Strengthens Syrian Border Defenses as Rebels Gain Ground – Between November 21 and 25, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” an umbrella for Iran-backed militias, conducted two drone attacks on Israel. No further attacks were reported in the following ten days. Despite this lull, the militias vowed on November 27 to continue operations against Israel, despite a recent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The groups include Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya. On December 2, Iraq’s Defense Ministry announced reinforcements along its border with Syria after Syrian opposition forces made significant advances against Assad’s regime, raising fears of extremist resurgences. Deployed units include federal police, army forces, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). PMF chairman Falih al-Fayyadh denied claims of Iraqi militias entering Syria. Separately, on November 26, Iraq signed a bilateral agreement with the UK to combat drug and human smuggling. more…
- HUMANITARIAN & HUMAN RIGHTS: Government Blocks Popular Platforms; Lebanese Refugees Return Home; Personal Status Law Amendments To Exclude Sunnis – On November 29, Iraq’s Telecommunications Ministry blocked several websites under court and parliamentary orders to ban platforms offering pornographic content. However, the banned list controversially included SoundCloud and IMDb, prompting widespread public criticism. On December 1, Iraq’s Migration Ministry reported that nearly 4,000 Lebanese refugees left Iraq to return home following a November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The ministry facilitated these returns, with flights to Beirut resuming. Before the ceasefire, an estimated 41,442 Lebanese refugees were in Iraq. On December 2, Iraq’s parliament again postponed voting on amendments to Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959. New revisions by the legal committee seek to limit the amendments to Iraq’s Shia community after opposition from Sunni lawmakers. Meanwhile, Iraq announced plans to send 450,000 tons of wheat to Syria and Lebanon for humanitarian aid. more…
- ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT: Iraq Publishes Census Results; Oil Smuggling Scheme Exposed – On November 25, Iraq released preliminary results from its November 20 census, reporting a population of 45.4 million, with 6.37 million in the Kurdistan region. Over 70% of Iraqis live in urban areas, while children under 15 account for 36% of the population. On December 3, Reuters revealed a large-scale oil smuggling operation generating over $1 billion annually for Iran and its allied militias. The smuggling takes advantage of steep subsidies to fuel oil allocated to asphalt plants, some of which exaggerate their needs, while other are simply fictitious. As much as 750,000 metric tons are being fraudulently redirected each month for sale to customers abroad. In some cases, Iranian fuel oil is blended with Iraq’s to be sold as a fully Iraqi product to bypass sanctions. In other cases, forged documents disguise Iraqi fuel as industrial byproducts that can be legitimately exported. Intelligence reports implicated Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah in the scheme. In other developments, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity reported losing 5,500 megawatts from the power grid due to halted Iranian gas imports. On November 26, Iraq selected Vodafone to operate its national cellphone provider with 5G technology. Additionally, October oil exports averaged 3.327 million barrels per day, up slightly from September. more…
For additional analysis every Friday, check out our new video series, Iraq in 7 Minutes!
For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.
POLITICS: Major Fraud Scheme Trials Concluded; Sudani Visits Spain; Iraqi Leaders Concerned Over Syrian Rebel Advances; New Kurdistan Parliament Sworn In
On November 25, the anti-corruption criminal court in Baghdad convicted several key suspects in the theft of $2.5 billion from government accounts known as the “heist of the century,” a statement by the Supreme Judicial Council said. The main suspect in the case, businessman Nour Zuheir, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the statement added. Raed Johi, another key suspect and senior aide to former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, was sentenced to six years in prison. The court also sentenced Haitham al-Jubouri, a former member of parliament implicated in the case, to three years in prison. Several other former government officials involved in the case also received sentences similar to Johi’s, the statement added, without mentioning their names. The prison sentences, which appear mild compared to the scale of the offense, were made in absentia as Zuheir and other key suspects remain at large outside Iraq. The verdicts mark the formal conclusion of the trials in the major fraud and corruption scheme that has captured public attention for two years.
On November 25, an investigation court in Baghdad issued a summons for Khamis al-Khanjar, the leader of the Sunni Arab Siyada party. Khanjar is being summoned for questioning on charges of insulting a government institution, court documents showed. The charges were filed by the Accountability and Justice Commission (aka the De-Baathification Commission) after Khanjar allegedly made offensive remarks against the Commission. This comes a few weeks after Khanjar resigned the leadership of his Siyada party in a letter addressed to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said. The letter indicated that the resignation was meant to avoid an investigation of ties between Khanjar and the Ba’ath Party regime by the country’s Accountability and Justice Commission. Reports on December 2 said that Khanjar was released on bail after he appeared before the court.
On November 25, Hallo Mustafa Kaka Ridha was sworn in as Iraq’s new Environment Minister. Ridha replaced former Environment Minister Nizar Amedi, who had submitted his resignation from office a month ago. Both Amedi and Ridha represent the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
On November 26, a member of the parliamentary security and defense committee claimed that his committee was being subjected to intense political pressure to prevent it from summoning Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi to testify before parliament. The lawmaker, Salah Zaini, told reporters that his committee has “more than 20 corruption dossiers” concerning the Defense Ministry’s procurement contracts that involve wasteful spending and pose risks to national security. The lawmaker did not mention specific procurement programs that are being investigated by his committee.
On November 27, a judiciary source said that an Iraqi court has issued an arrest warrant against the Secretary-General of the Homeland Party, Yezin Mishan al-Jubouri, in connection with a leaked recording that implicates him in corruption deals. The leaked recording allegedly shows Jubouri, the son of controversial politician Mishan al-Jubouri, talking about receiving commissions and being involved in corrupt dealings.
On November 28, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani arrived in Madrid on an official visit during which he met with his Spanish counterpart Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI. The Iraqi delegation included the ministers of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Transportation. During the visit, Iraq and Spain signed seven memorandums of understanding dealing with justice and legal affairs, sovereign credit, trade chambers, industry, anti-corruption, construction, and security cooperation between the Iraqi and Spanish interior ministries. Sudani told reporters in Madrid that the goal of his visit was to establish a framework for economic relations with Spain, adding that Iraq’s delegation invited Spanish companies to undertake projects in Iraq, including in railway construction and military industries.
On December 2, the leaders of the Coordination Framework warned that the rapid advance made by Syrian opposition factions in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib province, represented an “occupation by terrorists,” stressing that Syria’s security is “an extension of Iraqi national security.” The statement, issued after a meeting that was attended by Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, voiced concern about the setbacks suffered by the Assad regime in Syria, but sought to reassure the Iraqi people that Iraq’s security forces were fully prepared to defend the country’s border with Syria. The sudden developments in Syria have also prompted Sudani to confer with several regional leaders about containing “the threat to regional security,” including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, King Abdullah of Jordan, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Notably, Sudani told Erdogan that Iraq “will not stand by and watch the dangerous developments unfolding in Syria,” stressing the need to respect Syria’s unity and sovereignty, and accusing the Syrian opposition of undertaking “ethnic cleansing” operations against other Syrian communities. Meanwhile, the leader of the Syrian opposition forces, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, sought to soothe the growing anxiety among Iraqi leaders, assuring Sudani in a video message that the fighting in Syria is not going to threaten Iraq. Golani also urged Sudani and other Iraqi leaders to not interfere in Syria’s affairs and refrain from sending Iraqi militias to fight on Assad’s side. “We urge and hope Iraqi politicians, first and foremost Mohammed Shia al-Sudani… do their duty to prevent the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi’s intervention in what is happening in Syria,” Golani assured, adding that he looks forward to greater cooperation in the future between Iraq and post-Assad Syria.
On December 2, the newly elected parliament of the Kurdistan region of Iraq convened its first session in Erbil following the October 20 legislative election. The meeting was adjourned after the new lawmakers were sworn in as quorum could not be reached again to enable the election of a speaker and deputy speaker amid disagreements between the parties. According to a senior member of the PUK, the disagreement arises from conflicting visions about the distribution of top government positions between the PUK and its rival, the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). The PUK, which has increased its share of seats from 21 out of 111 in the previous parliament to 23 out of 100, is determined to control either the president’s or the prime minister’s position in the next regional government, as opposed to the speaker position, said the PUK’s Ghiyath Sorchi.
On December 5, Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament boycotted a session during which lawmakers were scheduled to discuss amendments to the federal budget law dealing with settling the production and transportation costs of oil in the Kurdistan region after the amendments were abruptly removed from the agenda, PUKMedia reported. A member of the parliamentary finance committee, lawmaker Moien al-Kadhimi, confirmed that the discussion was postponed because the committee had yet to submit its report on the subject. The amendments, proposed by the Council of Ministers in November, promise to offer Kurdistan better terms regarding the recovery of oil production and transportation costs of its oil produced. The issue has been a chronic dispute between the two sides that has long impeded the implementation of federal budget laws and contributed to the prolonged cessation of oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey oil export pipeline. Prime Minister Sudani had spoken before parliament on Wednesday to explain the rationale behind the amendments his government proposed.
Sources cited in this section include: Supreme Judicial Council, The Guardian, Shafaq, ISHM archive, al-Mada, Mawazin, INA, Iraq Observer, al-Sumaria, WaPo, Rudaw, Iraqi PM’s office, al-Hurra, Reuters, social media, PUKMedia, Baghdad Today.
SECURITY: Militia Attacks on Israel Decline; Iraq Strengthens Syrian Border Defenses as Rebels Gain Ground
On November 21, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” a front group for Iran-backed Iraqi militias, claimed that it conducted a new attack against an unspecified target in southern Israel using explosive drones. Several days later, on November 25, the group claimed that it conducted a second attack with explosive drones against another target in southern Israel without providing a specific location. Despite the scarcity of operations against Israel during this reporting period, Kataib Hezbollah asserted in a statement posted on November 27 that the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would not lead to a cessation of attacks by the Iraqi “resistance” factions against Israel. The militia also threatened to punish “the American enemy” for being Israel’s “partner in all crimes of treachery and murder.” Furthermore, sources close to the “resistance” factions said the leaders of the four groups comprising the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” agreed after a meeting held that same day to continue the drone and cruise missile attacks on Israel. The groups include Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, according to the sources.
On November 22, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) said that F-16 jets conducted an airstrike against a group of ISIS militants in the Wadi Zghaytoun region in Kirkuk province. Ground troops went in later to inspect the site and discovered the bodies of five dead ISIS militants. The troops also destroyed various explosives, weapons, and other supplies, the JOC statements added. A subsequent airstrike by F-16 jets on November 29 targeted ISIS hideouts in the Himrin Mountains within Kirkuk province, JOC said in a statement on November 30. Ground troops went in later to inspect the site and discovered the bodies of five ISIS militants who were killed in the strike. Then on December 2, the Security Media Cell reported that F-16 jets struck a hideout used by ISIS militants in al-Zarga region of Salah ad-Din province. The airstrike destroyed the position, killing all the militants who were at the site, the Cell added, without offering more details.
On November 24, security sources in Babylon province said that an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in the Jurf al-Sakhr subdistrict. The explosion killed one person, the sources added.
On November 26, Iraq’s Interior Minister, Abdul-Amir al-Shamari, and the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Yvette Cooper, signed a bilateral agreement for cooperation in combating drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations, a statement by Iraq’s Interior Ministry said. Further news reports said the agreement also deals with cracking down on illegal migration and human smuggling from Iraq to the UK, as well as the speedy repatriation of Iraqi asylum seekers whose cases face denial.
On November 26, the U.S. Central Command (CENCOM) said its forces struck weapon stores and supply depots used by Iranian-backed groups in Syria. The strikes were in response to an earlier attack that targeted a base hosting U.S. forces in eastern Syria the day before, CENTCOM added, without specifying whether the targeted groups were Iraqi militias. Three days later, on November 29, news reports said that a drone attack targeted U.S. forces at al-Tanf base in eastern Syria. There were no reports of casualties.
On December 2, Iraq’s Defense Ministry said that reinforcements have been deployed to bolster defensive preparations along Iraq’s border with Syria following the recent advances made by Syrian opposition factions against the Assad regime, which raised concerns in Iraq about an extremist resurgence next door. The reinforcements in the Anbar and Ninewa sectors involved large amounts of armored vehicles, reports and footage indicate. In the Ninewa sector, the military deployed a brigade from the army’s new 25th armored division, along with a federal police brigade. No details have been released about the units deployed to the border within the Anbar sector though. News reports also indicate that additional units from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have also been deployed to the border with Syria. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Popular Mobilization Commission, Falih al-Fayyadh, claimed that reports about Iraqi militias crossing into Syria were false. One particular paramilitary unit with a history of fighting in the Syrian civil war, however, is reportedly rebuilding its ranks in preparation for possible deployment to Syria. The unit, called the Abu al-Fadhl al-Abbas Brigade, said in a statement that it is accepting new recruits in preparation for deployment, pending approval by the Iraqi government.
On December 3, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani appointed major general Ala’ Yasir of the Counter-Terrorism Service to be the commander of the special division tasked with protecting the Green Zone in central Baghdad, Iraqi news sources reported.
Sources cited in this section include: NINA, Shafaq, al-Sumaria, INA, al-Hurra, CENTCOM, Rudaw, Reuters.
HUMANITARIAN & HUMAN RIGHTS: Government Blocks Popular Platforms; Lebanese Refugees Return Home; Personal Status Law Amendments To Exclude Sunnis
On November 24, Iraq’s Ministry for Migration and the Displaced said that 235 internally displaced persons (IDPs) returned this week to their home districts in Ninewa province from the Hassan Sham and al-Khazar IDP camps in Erbil province.
On November 26, an advisor to Prime Minister Sudani said the Iraqi government has decided to send 450,000 tons of wheat to support humanitarian aid efforts in Syria and Lebanon. Of that amount, 250,000 tons are destined for Syria and the remainder is to be sent to Lebanon, the adviser, Ziyad al-Atwani, explained. He added that Baghdad has approached authorities in Jordan to coordinate permits for the passage of aid convoys to Lebanon through Jordanian territory.
On November 29, Iraq’s Telecommunications Ministry said it blocked a number of websites in accordance with orders by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court and parliament that require banning platforms that provide pornographic content. The actual list of blocked sites, however, included podcasting platform SOUNDCLOUD and the movie and TV database, IMDb. The ministry is referring to a decision in March that expanded government censorship of internet content and social media platforms for a wide range of vaguely defined offenses. The decision included a ban on “websites, social media networks and applications that include the production and dissemination of immoral and indecent content, and content that violates modesty.” The decision to block IMDb and SOUNDCLOUD has been met with widespread criticism and ridicule by Iraqis on social media.
On December 1, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and the Displaced said that nearly 4,000 Lebanese have left Iraq headed back to Lebanon since a ceasefire came into effect between Israel and Hezbollah on November 27. The ministry said it developed a plan under instructions from the prime minister to facilitate the returns by land or by air. Meanwhile, Iraq’s Transportation Ministry said flights to Beirut from Baghdad and Najaf resumed at a rate of seven flights a week to help the Lebanese return to their country. On the day the ceasefire was announced, an estimated 41,442 Lebanese refugees were in Iraq, according to reports by the UNHCR.
On December 2, a meeting of Iraq’s parliament concluded by postponing for another time a vote on the controversial proposed amendments to the country’s Personal Status Law no.188 of 1959. The legislature also postponed votes on two other bills, one of which deals with amendments to the General Amnesty Law no. 27 of 2016, while the other deals with the return of properties confiscated by the Ba’ath Party regime. This is the second time that parliament has postponed voting on these bills this week, and the third since October, as disagreements over the three bills continued among lawmakers. Political sources had previously said that key Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish blocs had made a deal to pass the three bills in one package. Meanwhile, the latest available version of the proposed amendments are showing new changes introduced by the parliamentary legal committee. These changes appear to limit the scope of the amendments to the Personal Status Law so that they apply only to Iraq’s Shia Muslim community, noting opposition by Sunni lawmakers to having the amendments apply to their constituents. Furthermore, the changes require religious clerics to preserve the minimum marriage age in the existing law, as well as the mother’s right to child custody up to no less than the age of seven.
Sources cited in this section include: Rudaw, INA, ISHM archive, social media, Mawazin, BBC, UNHCR, Baghdad Today, al-Hurra, al-Sumaria, Shafaq.
ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT: Iraq Publishes Census Results; Oil Smuggling Scheme Exposed
On November 23, the Iraqi government said that construction has been completed on 790 new schools across the country out of 1,000 schools planned under a deal signed three years ago with Chinese construction firms. The remaining 210 schools are expected to be completed within the next two months, a government statement added. In related news, on December 2, the Iraqi government also launched a new program to build an additional 600 schools in various provinces. The program, dubbed Eduba, will be funded by Iraq’s Development Fund and involves deals with twelve construction companies.
On November 24, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said that the power grid lost nearly 5,500 megawatts due a complete halt in natural gas imports from Iran. In a statement, the ministry explained that Iranian gas imports dropped from 25 million cubic meters/day to just 7 million cubic meters/day, starving several power plants in central and southern Iraq from fuel. The disruption to gas imports, which the ministry attributed to unspecified maintenance work in Iraq, is expected to last for 15 days. A similar disruption to Iranian gas imports was reported by the ministry in October.
On November 25, the Iraqi government released preliminary results from the national population census that was launched on November 20, showing that Iraq’s population has reached 45,407,895 inhabitants (including foreign nationals) comprising 7,898,588 households. Males and females represented 50.1% and 49.8% of the population, respectively. The census results also indicate that more than 70% of Iraq’s population lives in urban areas, while slightly over 29% live in rural settings, Prime Minister Sudani said at a press conference. Children under the age of 15 represent 36.1% of the population, while those in the working age group of 15-64 years old represented 60.2%, and seniors over the age of 65 represented the remaining 3.7%. The results also indicate that 88.67% of households are headed by males while 11.33% had female heads of household. According to the census results, there are a total of 8,037,221 homes in the country, of which 92.1% are single family homes, 6.6.% are apartments, and 1.3% classified as “other.” The results also show that Iraq’s annual population growth rate stands at 2.3% when compared against 2009 statistics. The results released by the federal government put the population of the Kurdistan region at 6,370,668, according to the regional Planning Minister, Dara Rashid. The Kurdistan regional government (KRG) has asked the federal government to adopt this number as the basis for calculating the financial entitlements of the region for the next fiscal year.
On November 26, the Iraqi government selected Vodafone to be the operator of the country’s “national license project,” a statement by Prime Minister Sudani’s office said. Vodafone will operate the state-owned mobile service provider using 5-G technology for the first time in Iraq, the statement added.
On November 26, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that crude oil exports during October totaled more than 103.1 million bpd, for an average of 3.327 million bpd, which is about 17,000 bpd above exports in September. In its statement, which again came almost a month behind schedule, the Ministry of Oil neglected to mention the total revenue generated by the October exports and the average price at which the oil was sold. Nearly all of the oil produced came from fields in southern and central Iraq and was exported through the ports of Basra, while small amounts averaging 10,250 bpd were exported by trucks to Jordan. Exports from the northern fields in Kirkuk, as well as fields under the control of the Kurdistan regional government, remained suspended.
On November 26, Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources announced that the Iraqi government will resume enforcement of existing laws for the collection of irrigation fees from farmers based on law no. 12 of 1995 for the maintenance of irrigation and drainage systems. The decision aims to encourage more efficient use of water and generate revenue to support irrigation projects, the ministry said. Farmers who utilize modern irrigation methods will enjoy a 50% reduction in fees, the ministry explained in a statement.
On November 28, Fitch Ratings said that it affirmed Iraq’s “B-” Long Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating, describing Iraq’s outlook as “stable.” In its update, Fitch said the rating reflected the country’s “high commodity dependence, weak governance, and a high level of political risk.” These factors are balanced by “foreign-exchange (FX) reserves supported by consistent, albeit lower, current account surpluses and a favourable government debt profile,” the agency added. The update credits past improvements in oil prices for supporting “many Iraq’s credit metrics” but notes that the absence of structural, economic or fiscal reforms constrain the rating. The update predicts that the budget deficit will expand from 2% of GDP in 2023 to as much as 8% in 2024, and then up to an average of over 12% in the following two years on lower projected oil prices and limited non-oil revenue. For more details, the full update can be accessed here.
On December 1, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) instructed all banks and other financial institutions operating in Iraq to block financial transactions originating from or arriving to “agents of Tik Tok” in the country. The brief CBI order did not explain the reasons for the decision, which will impact many content creators in Iraq who generate revenue from their activity on the popular social media platform.
On December 3, a report by Reuters shed light on large-scale smuggling of fuel oil that may be generating more than $1 billion a year for Iran and its allied militias in Iraq that have grown in sophistication and scale under the current government in Baghdad. Sources told Reuters the smuggling takes advantage of steep government subsidies to fuel oil allocated to asphalt plants, with monthly volumes ranging from 500,000 to 750,000 metric tons being redirected for sale to customers abroad. Some of these plants exaggerate their demand for fuel oil when asking for allocations, while some plants are completely fictitious. Both forms of fraud allow those involved to create surplus fuel oil for export. The smuggling scheme then involves two pathways, both involving disguising either the nature or origin of the fuel. In one of them, Iranian fuel oil is blended with Iraqi fuel oil to be sold as a fully Iraqi product, fetching higher prices than Iranian fuels, which are heavily discounted due to the sanctions risk. In the other route, forged documents are used to disguise Iraqi fuel as industrial byproducts that can be legitimately exported in order to directly export it through the Basra ports. A western intelligence report reviewed by Reuters indicates that some of the asphalt plants involved in the smuggling scheme are controlled by two powerful militias, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah. The full report, which includes many other valuable details, can be accessed here.
On December 3, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that Washington has renewed a sanctions waiver that allows the Iraqi government to pay for electricity imported from Iran. The waiver, which is effective for a period of 120 days, was issued on November 7, the spokesperson told reporters. Washington officials stress that Iranian funds released from frozen assets in Iraqi banks, estimated at $10 billion, could only be used to pay for humanitarian goods and other transactions not prohibited by sanctions. The new waiver is the 23rd to be issued by Washington and is meant to give Iraq’s government enough room to implement its ambitious energy independence plans.
Sources cited in this section include: INA, ISHM archive, Rudaw, Iraqi PM’s office, al-Sumaria, Fitch Ratings, Iraq’s Oil Ministry, Reuters, State Department.
Derived from firsthand accounts and Iraq-based Arabic and Kurdish news sources, the Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor is a free publication of the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center.
Subscribe to our weekly ISHM and have the latest developments in Iraq sent straight to your inbox every Thursday and follow EPIC on Twitter to receive updates throughout the week.