BAGHDAD: A Turkish energy delegation will meet Iraqi oil officials in Baghdad on June 19, to discuss the resumption of Iraq’s northern oil exports, Iraqi deputy oil minister for upstream affairs, Basim Mohammed, told Reuters on Thursday.
“We have agreed that it’s necessary to resume oil exports as soon as possible and we’re ready to pump 500,000 barrels per day once flow restarts,” said Basim Mohammed.
Turkiye halted Iraq’s 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of northern exports through the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The ICC ordered Turkiye to pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion for unauthorized exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between 2014 and 2018.
The 80 days halt has cost the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over $2 billion, Reuters calculations found. The crude oil pipeline runs from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, and the KRG began exporting crude independently from Iraq’s federal government in 2013, a move Baghdad deemed illegal.
Attempts to restart the pipeline were delayed by Turkiye’s presidential elections last month and discussions between Iraq’s state-owned marketer SOMO and the KRG over an export deal, which has now been reached.
Turkish, Iraqi officials to discuss resumption of Iraq’s northern oil exports
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Turkish, Iraqi officials to discuss resumption of Iraq’s northern oil exports
- Turkiye halted Iraq’s 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of northern exports through the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Death toll in Iran protests over 3,000, rights group says
- The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule
- President Donald Trump, who had threatened ‘very strong action’ if Iran executed protesters, said Tehran’s leaders had called off mass hangings
DUBAI: More than 3,000 people have died in Iran’s nationwide protests, rights activists said on Saturday, while a “very slight rise” in Internet activity was reported in the country after an eight-day blackout.
The US-based HRANA group said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, after residents said the crackdown appeared to have broadly quelled protests for now and state media reported more arrests.
The capital Tehran has been comparatively quiet for four days, said several residents reached by Reuters. Drones were flying over the city, but there were no signs of major protests on Thursday or Friday, said the residents, who asked not to be identified for their safety.
A resident of a northern city on the Caspian Sea said the streets there also appeared calm.
The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic, culminating in mass violence late last week. According to opposition groups and an Iranian official, more than 2,000 people were killed in the worst domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“Metrics show a very slight rise in Internet connectivity in #Iran this morning” after 200 hours of shutdown, the Internet monitoring group NetBlocks posted on X. Connectivity remained around 2 percent of ordinary levels, it said.
A few Iranians overseas said on social media that they had been able to message users living inside Iran early on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump, who had threatened “very strong action” if Iran executed protesters, said Tehran’s leaders had called off mass hangings.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been canceled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he posted on social media.
Iran had not announced plans for such executions or said it had canceled them.
Indian students and pilgrims returning from Iran said they were largely confined to their accommodations while in the country, unable to communicate with their families back home.
“We only heard stories of violent protests, and one man jumped in front of our car holding a burning baton, shouting something in the local language, with anger visible in his eyes,” said Z Syeda, a third-year medical student at a university in Tehran.
India’s External Affairs Ministry said on Friday that commercial flights were available and that New Delhi would take steps to secure the safety and welfare of Indian nationals.
