The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By Simon Kent. A new wave of protesters have entered Iraq's parliament, forcing Iraqi security forces to escalate force with tear gas, rubber bullets and according to reports, live ammunition. Four protesters are reported dead, with estimates putting injured at over 50. Pictures on social media showed a man who appeared to have a serious […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq has made another plea to the Jordanian government to send Raghad Hussein, daughter of the late dictator Saddam, to Baghdad and face justice for crimes against humanity. The Iraqi government also accuses Raghad of financing terror, and she has made a number of statements against Iraqi governments since 2003. The terror […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari (pictured) and the IMF's Christian Josz (head of the IMF Iraq mission) have announced a standby loan for Iraq, following weeks of negotiations in Jordan. The loan is conditional on Iraq taking certain measures, for example, complying with an IMF monitoring scheme to reduce public sector expenditure and make […]
By Simon Kent. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has announced the opening of a consulate in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi- Kurdistan. Greece already has an embassy in Erbil, and the announcement suggested the new consultate will "substantially upgrade" the country's diplomatic presence in Iraq. (Source: Independent Balkan News Agency)
By Simon Kent. Iraqi forces have retaken a remote town on the road to Jordan, 360km from Baghdad in the south west part of Anbar. Anbar is a Sunni majority, mostly desert province home to the towns of Fallujah and Ramadi. The fall of the town to the so called Islamic State in 2014 was […]
By Mohammed al Salih for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. A deal between two main Iraqi Kurdish political parties, Gorran and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), is expected to increase tensions and lead to further fragmentation and destabilization of Iraqi […]
By Simon Kent. Elements of three Iraqi army divisions have cut off Fallujah, bolstered by Ministry of Interior forces and Hashd al Shaabi paramilitaries. According to The Daily Beast, there is new urgency to move into the center of the town, which is a short drive from Baghdad, following a wave of bombings targeting civilians in the […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Deputy Oil Minister Fayadh Nema, who is currently acting Oil Minister until Abadi's new cabinet is finalized, has recently announced a trip to Tehran to discuss cross border oil fields. Once a controversial topic between Tehran and Baghdad, Iraq's many cross border oil fields are now back on the agenda as sanctions […]
By Simon Kent. Iraqi officials in Iraq's western province of Anbar have discovered a mass grave near the provincial capital of Ramadi. The town was cleared of ISIS fighters in January, and ISIS prisoners led officials to the burial site, which contains 40 bodies, 6 of whom have been identified. Although Ramadi is a predominantly […]
By Simon Kent RSK Group have recently won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, widely seen as the most prestigious award for UK enterprise. Key to the award was their environmental work cleaning up the vast oilfields at Rumaila and Majnoon. But according to RSK Group, this was an opportunity they seized in […]
By Simon Kent. One of the problems the so called Islamic State have encountered recently is the transition from being a terrorist group to a terrorist army. Of course, an army has far more targets to hit from the air and ISIS continually discover this the hard way. According to the most recent statement from […]
By Simon Kent. As Iraq's political crisis drags on, Moqtada al Sadr's erratic posturing continues. Last month, he called for mass demonstrations outside of the International Zone in Baghdad, formerly the Green Zone, and threatened to storm the area with protesters unless PM Abadi appointed a technocratic cabinet. But when Abadi announced 14 nominees, Al […]
