The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
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 […]
Jalal Talabani who served as the president of Iraq between 2005 and 2014 and was the first Kurd to hold the post died at the age of 83 in a hospital in Germany on 3 October 2017. First appointed as the country's president during the Transitional Period in April 2005, he was re-elected twice, in […]
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 […]
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has hinted that his government wants to take control of revenue generated from Kurdish oil exports. The measure is the latest of a set of actions taken by Baghdad against the Kurdistan Region for carrying out last week's referendum that saw a 92-percent vote for independence, the first of which […]
The armed forces of Iran and neighboring Iraq plan to hold joint military exercises in coming days, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri announced. Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Brigadier General Jazayeri said the commanders of Iran’s Armed Forces held a meeting on Saturday chaired by Chief […]
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. Iraqi Kurdish Politicians Talk About Post-Referendum Threats And Demands While many uncertainties remain about Iraqi Kurdistan’s referendum on independence, there is one thing that seems clear to the people on […]
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. Kirkuk’s Kurdish Governor: If Baghdad Blockades Us, ‘We Will Manage’ In an interview, the controversial governor of Kirkuk, Najmuddin Karim, talks about Baghdad’s attempts to fire him, military tensions and […]
By John Lee. Direct international flights will be suspended to and from Erbil International Airport (pictured) starting from Friday evening, following a decision by the Iraqi cabinet and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, an airline official has told Xinhua. The move follows the region's vote for independence in Monday's referendum. Airlines including Qatar Airways, EgyptAir and […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission, yesterday announced the results of the Kurdistan independence referendum. In a press conference, Hndren Muhammad, the head of the Commission, announced an overwhelming victory of Yes in the referendum and provided the following preliminary figures: Eligible voters: 4,581,255. Turnout: 3,305,925 voted in the referendum, […]
By John Lee. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (pictured) has threatened to invade Iraq, and said he could cut off the oil export pipeline from Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, following the vote supporting independence in Iraqi Kurdistan. "We have the tap," he said. "It is done once, we close the tap." The […]
