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☆ Big Protests Break Out in Yemen After U.S.-British Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. and Britain carried out dozens of air strikes on Houthi military targets overnight, widening a wave of regional conflict unleashed by Israel's war in Gaza. "Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism," said Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, referring to the United States. "The United States is the Devil." The groups hold the U.S., Israel's closest ally, partly responsible for the crisis and the scope of Israel's massive response. The United States has no plans to deploy more forces to the region, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said.

Persons: Yemenis, Houthi, Mohammed Ali Al, Houthis, Israel's, Patrick Ryder, Doina Chiacu, Ahmed Rasheed, Michael Georgy, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, Political, Iraqi, United, Pentagon Locations: DUBAI, Red, U.S, Gaza, Yemen, United States, Israel, Iran, America, Sanaa, Iraq, Syria, Washington

☆ Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Militia Says 5 Killed by US Strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia said five of its members were killed in its stronghold of Jurf al-Sakhar south of Baghdad in U.S. strikes that Washington said came in response to attacks by Iran-aligned militias against their forces in the region. The attacks began on Oct. 17 and have been linked by Iraqi militia groups to U.S. support for Israel in its bombardment of Gaza following attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel. The strike by fighter aircraft targeted and destroyed a Kataeb Hezbollah operations centre and a Kataeb Hezbollah Command and Control node near Al Anbar and Jurf Al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad, a U.S. defense official said. An Iraqi military official said at least three Kataeb Hezbollah members had been killed and seven wounded in the overnight U.S. strikes. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Timour Azhari in Baghdad; Editing by Jacqueline Wong asnd Andrew Heavens)

Persons: Washington, Jurf, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Jacqueline Wong asnd Andrew Heavens Organizations: Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah Command Locations: BAGHDAD, Jurf, Baghdad, U.S, Iran, The U.S, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, Al Anbar, Iraqi, United States

[1/5] Mourners carry the coffins of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah fighters who were killed by US airstrike in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad during a funeral in Baghdad, Iraq November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani Acquire Licensing RightsBAGHDAD, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Iraq's government condemned overnight U.S. airstrikes south of Baghdad that killed eight members of Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah, saying they were a "dangerous escalation" not coordinated with authorities. The U.S. has carried out two series of strikes in Iraq since Tuesday, in response to more than 60 attacks by Iran-aligned militias against forces in the region, and destroyed a Kataib Hezbollah operations centre and a command and control node. Kataib Hezbollah said the strikes in Iraq killed eight of its members in its stronghold of Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad. In a statement, it threatened to attack a wider array of targets if U.S. strikes continued.

Persons: Iraq's, Thaier, Kataib, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Timour Azhari, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Israel, Hamas, Iraq's, Islamic State, Popular, Forces, Islamic, United, Thomson Locations: Jurf, Baghdad, Iraq, Rights BAGHDAD, Iran, U.S, United States, Gaza, Syria, Israel, Ain, Asad, Iranian, Islamic State, Iraqi, State

☆ Iraq expects deal to resume Kurdistan oil output within three days
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Ahmed Rasheed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Iraq's oil minister, Hayan Abdel-Ghani, speaks during a press conference at Iraq's Majnoon oil field near Basra, Iraq, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Iraq reached understanding with Turkey on oil exportsBaghdad seeks deal to adjust KRG oil contractsBAGHDAD, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Iraqi oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani expects to reach an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and foreign oil companies to resume oil production from the Kurdish region’s oilfields within three days, he said on Sunday. Abdel-Ghani and top federal oil officials on Sunday started meetings with the KRG's ministry of natural resources and senior Kurdish energy officials to discuss the matter. "The purpose of this meeting is to resolve all issues to facilitate resumption of oil production and exports," Abdel-Ghani told reporters in Erbil. APIKUR's members include international oil and gas companies that have a direct or indirect interest in upstream oil or gas contracts in Iraq's Kurdistan region, many of which have had to stop output because of the pipeline closure.

Persons: Hayan Abdel, Ghani, Essam, Abdel, Ahmed Rasheed, William Maclean, David Goodman Organizations: REUTERS, Kurdistan Regional Government, of Commerce, ICC, Association of, Petroleum Industry, Thomson Locations: Basra, Iraq, Turkey, Baghdad, BAGHDAD, Kurdish, Erbil, Iraq's, Kurdistan, Ankara, Iraq's Kurdistan

☆ PetroChina to replace Exxon as lead contractor for Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield, oil executive says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Aref Mohammed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We studied the settlement agreement and the oil ministry with the Basra Oil Company believe that the best option is for Petrochina to become the lead contractor of West Qurna 1," Hassan Mohammed, deputy Basra Oil Co. manager in charge of oilfields and licensing rounds affairs, told Reuters. Exxon and PetroChina were not immediately available for comment, but two oil managers at the West Qurna 1 field confirmed the details of the settlement and sale agreement signed with Exxon. Basra Oil Company director Khalid Hamza told Reuters in an interview in 2021 that Exxon was seeking to sell the share for $350 million. West Qurna 1, in southern Iraq, is one of the world’s largest oilfields with recoverable reserves estimated at more than 20 billion barrels. Following its exit from West Qurna 1, Exxon will have no presence in Iraq's energy sectory, said BOC officials.

Persons: Hassan Mohammed, PetroChina, Mohammed, Pertamina, Khalid Hamza, Aref Mohammed, Hadeel Al, Ahmed Rasheed, Kirsten Donovan, Giles Elgood Organizations: Exxon Mobil Corp, Basra Oil Company, Basra Oil Co, Reuters, Exxon, Exxon Mobil Corp's, BOC, Exxon Mobil’s, Thomson Locations: BASRA, Iraq, Iraqi, Basra, West, Indonesia’s, Iraq’s, Hadeel Al Sayegh, Dubai

☆ Drone, explosive attacks target US forces across Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

There had been four attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria in the past 24 hours, a separate U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The security sources said the patrol was accompanied by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces and that a vehicle in the patrol was damaged. A drone was also launched at al-Harir air base in Erbil which house U.S. and international forces but was downed before reaching its target, security sources said. It added that the base had been evacuated of U.S.-led coalition forces on Oct. 20. The U.S. military official said they "don't have any updates regarding adjustments in force posture throughout Iraq and Syria."

Persons: Kamal Ayash, Jamal al, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Idrees Ali, Timour Azhari, Mark Heinrich, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: U.S, Federal Iraqi, Pentagon, United, Thomson Locations: MOSUL, Iraq, U.S, Israel, Syria, Mosul, Ain, Asad, Baghdad, Erbil, Gaza, Iran, Tehran, Iranian, United States, Anbar, Badrani, Washington

☆ U.S. Forces Under Fire in Middle East as America Slides Towards Brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Ahmed RasheedWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. Iran says it had no role in Hamas' Oct. 7 raid on Israel, though it has welcomed the attack. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed WASHINGTON, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Char Organizations: U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Israel, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

[1/2] A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

☆ Rockets, drones hit Iraqi base housing U.S. forces -security sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Military vehicles of U.S. soldiers are seen at the al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq, January 13, 2020. REUTERS/John Davison/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsANBAR, Iraq, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Drones and rockets targeted on Thursday evening the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. and other international forces in western Iraq, and multiple blasts were heard inside the base, two security sources said. The Iraqi military said it closed the area around the base and started a search operation. Thursday's attack is the third in less than 24 hours against airbases which house U.S. troops in Iraq. Ain al-Asad air base is located in the western Anbar province.

Persons: Asad, John Davison, Kamal Ayash, Ahmed Rasheed, Chizu Nomiyama, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, ., United, Thomson Locations: U.S, Anbar province, Iraq, Rights ANBAR, Iran, Gaza, United States, Syria, State, Ain, Anbar

☆ U.S. says it thwarted drone attack on its troops in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TEL AVIV, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. military thwarted an attack targeting its forces in Iraq early on Wednesday, intercepting two drones before they could strike, two U.S. officials said after the first such attack on U.S. forces in Iraq in more than a year. The one-way attack drones were intercepted as they attempted to strike Iraq's al Asad air base, which hosts American troops, the officials said. Last week he threatened to target U.S. interests if Washington intervened to support Israel. Dozens of members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the state paramilitary organisation that contains many Iran-backed factions, took to the streets on Tuesday to condemn the hospital attack. Demonstrators chanted anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans and said they wanted to storm the U.S. embassy for its support of Israel.

Persons: Iraq's al Asad, Joe Biden, Israel, Ali al, Hadi Al, Amiri, Washington, Kataib, Phil Stewart, Amina Ismail, Ahmed Rasheed, Ahmed Saad, Clarence Fernandez, Nick Macfie Organizations: U.S, Reuters, American, Hamas, Islamic, Israel, Hezbollah, United, Popular, Forces, ., Thomson Locations: TEL AVIV, Iraq, U.S, Washington, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Al, Ahli, Israeli, United States, Iraqi, Badr, America, Syria, State, Baghdad, Tel Aviv, Erbil

☆ Iraq, UAE's Crescent launch deals to develop three oil and gas fields
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Ahmed Rasheed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BAGHDAD, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Iraq has launched three energy contracts with UAE-based Crescent Petroleum to develop three oil and gas fields in Iraq, the oil ministry said on Sunday. United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Petroleum signed in February three 20-year contracts to develop oil and natural gas fields in Iraq's Basra and Diyala provinces in northeastern Baghdad. The Crescent Petroleum contracts are expected to begin producing 400 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas within 18 months, the oil ministry statement quoted Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani as saying. Abdel-Ghani, who attended the launch at the oil ministry headquarters in Baghdad, said starting operations by Crescent Petroleum will help Iraq to stop gas flaring and use the processed gas to generate electricity. The OPEC producer relies heavily on Iranian gas imports to feed its power grid.

Persons: Hayan Abdel, Ghani, Abdel, Ahmed Rasheed, Louise Heavens Organizations: UAE, Crescent Petroleum, Sunday, United, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Basra, Diyala, Baghdad, OPEC, United States

☆ Iran's allies in Iraq, Yemen threaten U.S. over intervention in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Leader of the Conquest Coalition and the Iran-backed Shi'ite militia Badr Organisation Hadi al-Amiri speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr (not pictured), in Najaf, Iraq June 12, 2018. In Yemen, the leader of the powerful Houthi Movement warned on Tuesday that the group would respond to any U.S. intervention in Gaza with drones, missiles and other military options. The PMF has voiced its "unequivocal support" for the Palestinian factions fighting Israel and the Iraqi government has said the Palestinian operations were a natural outcome of what it calls "oppressive" policies by Israel. In past years, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq regularly targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad with rockets, though such attacks have abated under a truce in place since last year, as Iraq enjoys a period of relative calm. Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail and Timour Azhari; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hadi al, Amiri, Moqtada al, Washington, Hadi Al, Al, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Timour, Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Conquest Coalition, REUTERS, Rights, Senior, Houthi, Hezbollah, Popular, Forces, U.S, United, Thomson Locations: Iran, Sadr, Najaf, Iraq, Rights BAGHDAD, Gaza, United States, U.S, Israel, Yemen, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Iraqi, Baghdad, Syria, State

☆ Iraq wedding fire caused by 'gross negligence', government investigation says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Volunteers search for the remains of missing bodies following a fatal fire at a wedding celebration, in the district of Hamdaniya, in Nineveh province, Iraq, September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad Acquire Licensing RightsBAGHDAD, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A fire that swept through a crowded wedding hall in a northern Iraqi town killing more than 100 people was blamed on "gross negligence" and lack of safety measures, the results of a government investigation into the disaster said. “The fire was accidental and unintentional and occurred due to gross negligence,” the investigation findings said. The blaze trapped people inside the wedding hall and rescue teams struggled to reach them because exit doors were few and small, Shammari said. The investigation also made recommendations that legal action should be taken against local officials.

Persons: Ahmed Saad, Abdul Amir al, ” Shammari, Shammari, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ahmed Rasheed, Jane Merriman Organizations: Volunteers, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Hamdaniya, Nineveh province, Iraq, Rights BAGHDAD, Iraqi, Christian

☆ Iraq jails police for failing to halt torching of Swedish embassy after Koran burning
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Iraqi demonstrator holds the Koran during a protest near the Green Zone against the burning of a copy of the Koran and the Iraqi flag in the Swedish capital Stockholm, in Baghdad, Iraq July 22, 2023. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBAGHDAD, Sept 13 (Reuters) - An Iraqi court sentenced 18 police officers to prison after they were found guilty of failing to prevent protesters from setting fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in July over a planned Koran burning in Stockholm. It says the officers were convicted of "abstaining from their duties to protect the Swedish embassy and to stop the persons who stormed and set fire to it". Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in July and set it on fire over a planned Koran burning in Stockholm. Anti-Islam protesters, one of whom is an Iraqi immigrant to Sweden who burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque in June, had applied for and received permission from Swedish police to burn the Koran outside the Iraqi embassy.

Persons: Khalid Al, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Nick Macfie Organizations: Green, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Iraqi, Swedish, Stockholm, Baghdad, Iraq, Rights BAGHDAD, Sweden

☆ Iraqi security forces deploy in Kirkuk after four protesters killed in ethnic clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view of the city of Kirkuk shows a flame from an oilfield in the distance, October 25, 2010. Four protesters were shot dead on Saturday in clashes between ethnic groups in Kirkuk that broke out after days of tensions. But security forces had deployed additional troops on the streets to "prevent violence and protect civilians", he said. Military helicopters flew over the city on Sunday, according to four Kirkuk residents who spoke to Reuters by phone. Arab residents and minority groups, who say they suffered under Kurdish rule, have protested the KDP's return to the city.

Persons: Saad Shalash, Amir Shwani, Shwani, Ahmed Rasheed, Ros Russell, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, Security, SULAIMANIYA, Police, Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, Military, Reuters, Sunday, Iraq's Shi'ite, Thomson Locations: Kirkuk, Iraq

☆ Protester killed, dozen wounded in clashes in Iraq city of Kirkuk, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A protester was shot dead and a dozen wounded on Saturday during clashes between ethnic groups in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk that broke out after days of tensions, security forces and police said. Security officials and police in the city say they were investigating the circumstances of how a protester - a Kurd - was killed, and who opened fire. People from both protest groups were wounded as stones were thrown and metal bars used to attack, said Kirkuk police. Kurdish forces controlled Kirkuk city after driving Islamic State out in 2014 but were ejected by the Iraqi army in 2017, bringing the city back under Baghdad's control. But Arab residents and minority groups who said they suffered under Kurdish rule, such as the Turkmen, have protested the KDP's return.

Persons: Mohammed al, Sudani, Ahmed Rasheed, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Kurdistan Democratic Party, Security, Iraq's Shi'ite, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Kirkuk, Iraq, State, Iraqi

☆ Iraq oil minister in Turkey to discuss resuming northern oil exports -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAGHDAD, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara to discuss several issues including the resumption of oil exports through the Ceyhan oil terminal, a source in the minister's office told Reuters on Monday. Iraqi oil minister will meet his Turkish counterpart to discuss energy issues, on top of which is the resumption of Iraq's northern oil exports via Turkey's Ceyhan port, said an oil official. Turkey halted Iraq's 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of exports through the northern Iraq-Turkey pipeline on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Turkey wants to negotiate regarding the size of damages it was ordered to pay in the arbitration ruling and also seeks clarification on other open arbitration cases. "Iraq's oil minister is in Turkey to discuss obstacles delaying the resumption of oil exports and how to resolve lingering issues," said an oil ministry official who is close to the Iraqi northern oil exports operations.

Persons: Hayan Abdel, Ghani, Ahmed Rasheed, Ahmed Elimam, Susan Fenton, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Reuters, International Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce, ICC, Kurdistan Regional Government, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Turkish, Ankara, Turkey, Iraq, Paris, Iraqi Kurdistan, Baghdad, Ceyhan, Kurdistan

At least ten copies of the Koran have been burned in Denmark over the past week. WHAT IS AT THE HEART OF THE ISSUE IN SWEDEN AND DENMARK? WHAT ARE SWEDEN AND DENMARK DOING NOW? Nevertheless, both Sweden and Denmark say they are examining ways to legally limit burnings to de-escalate tensions with Muslim nations. WHAT NEXT FOR THE LAW IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN?

Persons: Salwan Momika, Rasmus Paludan, Desecrating, Prophet Mohammad, Angel Gabriel, Tom Little, Susie Jessen, Tayyip Erdogan, Johan Ahlander, Johannes Birkebaek, Ahmed Rasheed, Gwladys Fouche, Andrew Heavens Organizations: WHO, Danish Patriots, NATO, REUTERS, Denmark Democrats, Reuters, Sweden's, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sweden, Iraq, Swedish, SWEDEN, DENMARK, Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Tom Little Denmark, Baghdad, East, Stockholm

U.S. financial authorities last week barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on dollar smuggling to Iran via the Iraqi banking system, Iraqi central bank officials have said. Iraqi central bank (CBI) Governor Ali al-Allaq said on Wednesday the institution was following up on the issue and he had no indication the U.S. would sanction more Iraqi banks. He also noted that other banks were able to cover the market's needs for dollar transactions, with the 14 sanctioned banks representing just 8% of external transfers. The 14 banks have been banned from undertaking dollar transactions but can continue to use Iraqi dinars and other foreign currencies. The latest U.S. sanctions, along with previous ones on eight banks, have left nearly a third of Iraq's 72 banks blacklisted, two Iraqi central bank officials said.

Persons: Ali al, Allaq, Haider al, Shamma, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department, New York Fed, CBI, U.S ., Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraqi, United States, Iran, U.S, Tehran, Iraq's, Baghdad

U.S. financial authorities last week barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on dollar smuggling to Iran via the Iraqi banking system, Iraqi central bank officials have said. U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the measures were not sanctions, as they have been referred to by Iraq's Central Bank governor. Iraqi central bank (CBI) Governor Ali al-Allaq said on Wednesday the institution was following up on the issue and he had no indication the U.S. would impose "sanctions" on more Iraqi banks. The 14 banks have been banned from undertaking dollar transactions but can continue to use Iraqi dinars and other foreign currencies. The latest U.S. measures, along with previous curbs on eight banks, have left nearly a third of Iraq's 72 banks blacklisted, two Iraqi central bank officials said.

Persons: Vedant Patel, Patel, Ali al, Allaq, Haider al, Shamma, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Richard Chang, Daniel Wallis Organizations: . State Department, Iraq's Central Bank, Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Central Bank of, U.S . Treasury Department, New York Fed, CBI, U.S ., Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraqi, United States, Iran, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S, Tehran, Iraq's, Baghdad

The protester didn't follow through with his plan to burn the Koran in Stockholm, but he still kicked and partially destroyed one. Iraq told the Swedish ambassador to leave and recalled its own envoy to Stockholm. This led Sadr to declare last August that he was withdrawing from politics, leaving the Iran-backed Shi'ite groups in the driving seat of government. Sadr has mostly laid low since announcing his departure from politics, engaging supporters in religious events rather than calling them to the streets for protests. That has changed after the burning of a Koran in Sweden last month, when Sadr called on supporters to engage in mass demonstrations at the Swedish embassy and other parts of Iraq.

Persons: Sadr, Muqtada al, Mohammed Shia Al, Ahmed Younis, Mohammed Sadeq al, Saddam Hussein, Mohammed Baqir, Saddam, Sudani, Renad Mansour, Tom Perry, Michael Georgy, William Maclean Organizations: U.S, Iraq, Thomson Locations: U.S, Iraq BAGHDAD, Baghdad, Sweden, Stockholm, Iraq, Swedish, Iran, Europe, Sadr, Tehran, Washington

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said staff at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad were safe but Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy. Thursday's demonstration was called by supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest at the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media. He stood by the embassy storming on Thursday, telling a press conference the U.S. "has no right to condemn the burning of the Swedish embassy but should have condemned the burning of the Koran". "Yes, yes to the Koran," protesters chanted. Sweden has seen several Koran burnings in recent years, mostly by far-right and anti-Muslim activists.

Persons: Tobias Billstrom, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Mohammed Shia Al, Billstrom, Muqtada al, Moqtada al, Read, Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Timour Azhari, Anna Ringstrom, Supantha Mukherjee, Johan Ahlander, Marie, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Ahmed Rasheed, Tom Hogue, Tom Perry, Lincoln, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean, Alison Williams, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Sweden's Ericsson, State Department, Telegram, Turkish, Sweden's, Islam, Marie Mannes, Thomson Locations: Iraq, BAGHDAD, STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Stockholm, Baghdad, Iraqi, Sweden, Tehran, Turkey, Washington, Sadr, Copenhagen

The budget deficit is estimated at a record 64.36 trillion Iraq dinars, more than double the last budget deficit in 2021, according to a budget document and lawmakers. The budget sets the exchange rate for oil revenues in U.S. dollars at 1,300 dinars per dollar. It will remain valid through 2025, though it is subject to amendment, including to the oil price it uses given its near-total dependence on oil revenue. To break even, Iraq required an oil price of $96 bpd, it said, while the price averaged $71.3 bpd in May. Baghdad previously had no say over Kurdistan's expenditure of oil revenues, with Kurdistan unilaterally exporting crude via Turkey despite Baghdad's objections.

Persons: Mohammed Nouri, Ahmed Tabaqchali, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Shri Navaratnam, Robert Birsel Organizations: Media, REUTERS, London School of Economics Middle East Center, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Baghdad, Iraq, REUTERS BAGHDAD, Kurdistan, Iraqi, Turkey, Erbil, Iraq's, Kurdish, Ankara

☆ Iraq to pay $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt to Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAGHDAD, June 10 (Reuters) - Iraq has agreed to pay about $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt to Iran after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, a senior Iraqi foreign ministry official said. Due to decades of conflict and sanctions, Iraq is dependent on imports from Iran for a lot of its gas needs. However, U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil and gas have hampered Iraq's payments for imports, putting it in heavy arrears and leading Iran to retaliate by cutting gas flows regularly. Iran has been unable to access billions of dollars in assets in several countries due to U.S. sanctions. The United States has insisted that oil-rich Iraq, the OPEC group's second-largest producer, moves towards self-sufficiency as a condition for its exemption to import Iranian energy, yet Baghdad has struggled to do so.

Persons: Fuad Hussein, Antony Blinken, Ahmed Al, Sahhaf, Hussein, Yahya Al, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: U.S, Riyadh Conference, Reuters, Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Commercial Bank of Iraq, United, OPEC, Dubai, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, Iran, United States, Iraqi, Riyadh, Baghdad

☆ Iraqi court sentences police officer to death for murder of government adviser
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BAGHDAD, May 7 (Reuters) - An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death a police officer blamed for leading a group that gunned down well-known analyst and government adviser Hisham al-Hashemi three years ago in Baghdad. A Baghdad court issued a death sentence on Sunday against Ahmed Hamdawi under Iraqi counter-terrorism laws, a judicial authority statement said. Media were not allowed access, but a lawyer who attended the court session said Hamdawi did not say anything in the court in response to the judge's ruling. In 2021, Iraqi state television aired a video showing Hamdawi saying he led the group that killed Hashemi. Some Islamic State supporters cheered his death, but no group had claimed the murder.

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