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Iraq’s foreign minister Ibrahim Jaafari (pictured) met his Russian counterpart in Moscow on October 23 where he said Baghdad seeks stronger economic ties and the development of a strategic partnership with Russia.

“Relations are already at an excellent level in various areas: politics, economy, security. After turning the page of the fight against terrorism, our task is to give impetus to the economic development," Jaafari told reporters prior to his meeting with Sergei Lavrov.

Russia's Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov said that Russia would continue business interactions with the Kurdistan Region, but in coordination with Baghdad.

"I want to confirm once again our commitment to the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, the commitment to solving all the problems that arise through an inclusive national dialogue, involving and taking into account the interests of all ethnic, religious and political groups," Lavrov said.

Neither commented on the recent deal signed between Russian oil giant Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which if implemented give the Russian company a controlling percentage of oil production in the Kurdish region.

(Source: GardaWorld)

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has put forward the date of May 12, 2018 for the Iraqi parliamentary election.

“The IHEC’s Board of Commissioners suggests for the Council of Ministers to set Saturday, 12 May 2018, a date for the election of the Council of Representatives for its fourth electoral term,” according to an IHEC statement reported on October 22.

The initial date for the elections had been set for early April according to previous reports.

(Source: GardaWorld)

GardaWorld, a global leader in comprehensive security and risk management, has made its weekly security report available to Iraq Business News readers.

Prepared by GardaWorld's Risk Analysis Team in Iraq, this essential report includes short- and medium-term outlooks on the security situation, reports and commentary on recent significant events, and a detailed overview of developments across the country.

Please click here to download the latest report free of charge.

For more information on how GardaWorld's services can support your business in Iraq, please contact Daniel Matthews, Senior Director Iraq, at [email protected]

In a statement released on October 18, the Kurdish Independent High Electoral and Referendum Commission (IHERC) said it had decided to suspend the preparations for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, due to be held on November 1, due to the recent violence in Kirkuk and other disputed territories.

The suspension is due to not receiving "the names of candidates on the scheduled dates and because of the recent development in Kirkuk and the disputed areas," the IHERC statement said.

It said "the suspension will continue until the parliament of Kurdistan region will take a decision about the matter."

(Source: GardaWorld)

Federal forces in control of large areas of Kirkuk city; further Kurdish withdrawals in Nineveh/Diyala

Over the course of October 16, Iraqi federal forces advanced into many parts of Kirkuk city and adjacent military and energy facilities. The Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), supported by the Iraqi Army and Federal Police took control of the K1 military base, the governor's palace, the Kirkuk Provincial Council headquarters, the North Oil Company and North Gas Company headquarters, the Kirkuk Regional Air Base, and key areas of Kirkuk city and road junctions.

While Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) took part in operations in rural areas, they were not deployed into the Kirkuk city area.  Local Kurdish forces aligned with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) offered minimal resistance as federal forces moved into the area, many media reports have focused on an agreement in place between the PUK leadership and Baghdad for an orderly transfer of the facilities listed.

As a result, Baghdad is now in control of the portions of PUK-controlled Kirkuk that it held prior to the 2014 military collapse.   Government forces were also reported to have moved into the oil fields of Dibis district that have been held by forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 2014. These fields produce 275,000 barrels of oil per day, or nearly half the 620,000-barrel output of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Some media reports claimed that thousands of Kurdish civilians have fled Kirkuk city and its surrounding area.  Other reports claimed that crowds of ethnic Turkmen who opposed Kurdish control of the city celebrated on the streets of Kirkuk.  The US has not opposed Baghdad's return to Kirkuk in part because the move was framed in terms of restoring the status quo before the Islamic State (IS) crisis.  This theme has been echoed by the majority of the international community.

Separate unconfirmed reporting has indicated that Sinjar, 100km west of Mosul in Nineveh province, is now under the control of ISF/PMU forces following the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces from the town. Reporting on October 16 had indicated a build-up of government forces to the south and east of Sinjar.

Reporting last night indicated that talks were underway for a peaceful handover. Yazidi elements of the region's majority Shia PMU forces had apparently stated their unwillingness to confront Peshmerga owing to the close ties between the groups.  Reports from Diyala province have also claimed that Kurdish forces have withdrawn from positions in the Mandali district northeast of Baquba as Iraqi federal forces entered Khanaqin district to the south of Mandali.

(Source: GardaWorld)

Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Counterterrorism Services (CTS), Federal Police (FP), and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) launched a combined offensive with intent to seize the K1 military base, Kirkuk airport, and Kirkuk's oilfields at around 0200hrs (local) on October 16.

The offensive followed two days of failed negotiations after the government of Iraq demanded Kurdish forces withdraw from the disputed areas around Kirkuk and cede control to Iraqi federal forces.

Crisis talks on October 15 failed to resolve the standoff as Kurdish leaders refused Iraqi government demands to reject the referendum result.

Clashes were subsequently reported to have broken out between Iraqi and Kurdish forces south of the city of Kirkuk.

Iraqi state media said that federal troops had entered disputed territories occupied by the Kurds, saying they had taken control of ‘vast areas’ without opposition from the Kurdish Peshmerga.

Kurdish officials, however, denied that the Iraqi forces had been able to get close to Kirkuk city and said that the oil fields west of the city were still under Kurdish control.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said in a statement that federal forces were advancing along two routes along the Taza-Kirkuk intersection and Maryam Bag Bridge, both South of Kirkuk.

Separate reports claimed artillery fire could be heard to the south of Kirkuk city in the early hours.  An initial statement by the US state department said it was ‘very concerned’ about reports of a confrontation and was ‘monitoring the situation in Kirkuk closely’.

Oil prices reported to have jumped early on October 16 amid reports of the clashes in Kirkuk.

(Source: GardaWorld)

Iran reported to have shut crossing with Kurdish region; subsequently denied by Iran

Reports on October 15 claimed that the Iranian authorities shut a main border crossing with the Kurdish region amid increased tensions.

Ali Tawfiq, director of the terminal in Sulaimaniyah province reported that the main border crossing at Bashmaq had been closed by the Iranian authorities; he added that no reason has been cited for the Iranian move.

Iran has three main official crossings with the Kurdish region; Haji Omaran in Erbil Province and Parwezkhan, and Bashmaq in Sulaymaniyah province.

Reports later on October 15 claimed that Iran's Foreign Ministry subsequently denied reports that Tehran had closed its border crossings with the Kurdish region.

(Source: GardaWorld)

GardaWorld, a global leader in comprehensive security and risk management, has made its weekly security report available to Iraq Business News readers.

Prepared by GardaWorld's Risk Analysis Team in Iraq, this essential report includes short- and medium-term outlooks on the security situation, reports and commentary on recent significant events, and a detailed overview of developments across the country.

Please click here to download the latest report free of charge.

For more information on how GardaWorld's services can support your business in Iraq, please contact Daniel Matthews, Senior Director Iraq, at [email protected]

Iraq has sent an official request to both Turkey and Iran to close all border posts with the Kurdistan Region until the latter hands them over to the federal government in Baghdad.

“The Foreign Ministry submitted an official memorandum to the embassies of Turkey and Iran in Baghdad a week ago that included a formal request for the governments of the two countries to deal with the federal government in Baghdad exclusively with regard to border crossings and the closure of all crossings with the Kurdistan Region,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Mahjoub said in a statement posted on Facebook on October 7.

The statement said that Baghdad also urged Ankara and Tehran to suspend all commercial transactions with Kurdistan, especially those related to the export of oil.

It added that Baghdad cooperates with the Turkish and Iranian sides “to enforce the constitution and the law” that the two countries should deal exclusively with the federal authorities “in accordance with the principles of good neighbourliness and respect for Iraqi sovereignty”.

A separate statement by the Iranian Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Brig-Gen Masoud Jazayeri has said Iran is in the process of tightening control on its border with Iraqi Kurdistan at the request of Iraq's central government.

"At the request of the legal government of Iraq, Iran will impose more control on its joint borders with the Iraqi Kurdistan region," Jazayeri was quoted as saying by the conservative Mehr news agency on October 7.

(Source: GardaWorld)

GardaWorld, a global leader in comprehensive security and risk management, has made its weekly security report available to Iraq Business News readers.

Prepared by GardaWorld's Risk Analysis Team in Iraq, this essential report includes short- and medium-term outlooks on the security situation, reports and commentary on recent significant events, and a detailed overview of developments across the country.

Please click here to download the latest report free of charge.

For more information on how GardaWorld's services can support your business in Iraq, please contact Daniel Matthews, Senior Director Iraq, at [email protected]