This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In Baghdad, the Kurdish referendum has dominated all other official proceedings. Lack of progress on electoral laws means federal elections could be postponed - again. The controversial Iraqi Kurdish referendum […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. While Iraq has taken measures against its semi-autonomous Kurdish region for last month's secession vote, Kurdish farmers say they're also being punished by neighbouring Iran. They say Tehran has stemmed the flow of […]
By John Lee. Mobile phone operators based in Iraqi Kurdistan have reportedly been told by the Iraqi government to move their headquarters to Baghdad, following the region’s recent vote for independence. Asiacell is based in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah, while Korek is based in Erbil; Zain, however, is based in Baghdad. According to a […]
By Ali Hashem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Up until the last day before the Sept. 25 Kurdish independence referendum, Iran was still dealing with the event with a sense of disbelief and with the misconception that it would be called […]
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 […]
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. If people in Iraqi Kurdistan are not talking about the referendum on independence then they are discussing the arrival of new political alliance with the potential to change the Kurdish […]
By Cengiz Çandar for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Probably no president was ever called "uncle" by his eminent counterparts and by the people on the street. Yet in every Middle East country where Kurds live, "mam" ("paternal uncle" in Kurdish) was the honorific title […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has reportedly filed a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) following Baghdad's decision to close the region's airspace to international traffic. The closure came after Kurdish authorities refused to hand over control of the airports to the central government, following last week's referendum on Kurdish […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) announced on Tuesday that it will block foreign currency transfers to Iraqi Kurdistan, and stop selling dollars to four major Kurdish banks. The decision part of an effort to put pressure on Iraqi Kurdistan after its population voted overwhelmingly in favour of breaking away from Iraq […]
Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development warned companies against shipment of oil products to and from the Iraqi Kurdistan “until further notice”. The decision is in line with Tehran’s series of measures in response to a referendum held in the semi-autonomous region on possible secession from Iraq which has drawn international criticism. “Given the […]
From Al Monitor. Any opinions here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Russian President Vladimir Putin had been banking on Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani. Over the past year, Russia has invested over $4 billion in the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector, overtaking the United […]
By Ahmed Tabaqchali (pictured), CIO of Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) Iraq Fund. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In spite of the intense international focus, the Kurdish referendum was almost a non-event for the market during the month. Thoughts on the referendum’s […]
