Iraq denies it is resuming oil exports from Kurdistan under US pressure
Iraqi authorities have rejected reports that they have allowed a resumption of oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region because of threats by the US government.
Farhad Alaaldin, a foreign affairs adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, said in a Saturday statement that Baghdad was facing no threats from Washington if oil exports were not resumed from Kurdistan.
“Decisions related to the management of national resources are taken in accordance with Iraqi sovereignty and in a way that serves the country's economic interests,” said Alaaldin.
He insisted that Iraq's parliament had already passed a law establishing a price for the oil planned to be exported from Kurdistan.
The statement came after the Reuters news agency claimed in a report that US President Donald Trump’s administration has been piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions.
The report said that the resumption of oil exports from Kurdistan, which will amount to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports as a result of Washington’s efforts to impose more sanctions on Iran.
Iran is currently supplying up to 1.8 million bpd of oil to international markets despite a harsh regime of US sanctions that imposes heavy penalties on buyers.
The sanctions started seven years ago during Trump’s first term in office.
Trump has announced a re-enactment of his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Iranian authorities have downplayed the threats, saying the country has put in place policies to counter Washington’s hostile actions targeting its energy sector.
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