Page 5 - Iraq

US extends sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran

The Biden administration has extended by four months a sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to continue to purchase electricity from Iran and give Iran limited access to the proceeds to buy humanitarian goods. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the 120-day waiver extension and it was transmitted to Congress on Tuesday, US officials said. The move is likely to draw criticism from Iran hawks on Capitol Hill and elsewhere who believe the extension will reward Iran at a time when it is coming under increasing pressure to end its support for proxy groups, including Hamas, that are destabilising the Middle East. There is roughly USD 10 billion in Iraqi payments for Iranian electricity currently being held in escrow accounts in Iraq, and the waiver will allow Baghdad to maintain its energy imports without fear of US penalties for violating sanctions on Iran. It will also keep in place a provision included in the last 120-day waiver under which portions of the electricity proceeds

Lupin, Amman Pharma collaborates for exclusive marketing of Ranibizumab

Lupin Limited has partnered with pharmaceutical manufacturer Amman Pharmaceuticals Industries for exclusive marketing and commercialisation of Ranibizumab in the West Asian region

Dispute between Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga turns deadly, 3 killed

The Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga forces briefly clashed Sunday in a dispute over control of a strategic military post, killing three, Iraq's military spokesperson said. The dispute was over who controls three vacated posts previously in the hands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. It marked further tension in a fragile alliance between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region inside federal Iraq. Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool did not specify the identities of the three killed, adding that seven others in the dispute were wounded. On Thursday, the PKK announced they were vacating the positions, citing what they said was the declining threat of the extremist Islamic State group in the area. They had held the military position since 2014, during the global war on the group. Turkiye often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that

Troops hurt after three drones attack US bases in Iraq as tensions flare

Coalition forces were slightly injured in Iraq in a spate of drone attacks over the last 24 hours at US bases in Iraq as regional tensions flare following the deadly bombing of a hospital in Gaza. Two drones targeted a base in western Iraq used by US forces and one drone targeted a base in northern Iraq. US forces intercepted all three, destroying two but only damaging the third, which led to minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base, according to a statement Wednesday by U.S. Central Command. In this moment of heightened alert, we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region. US forces will defend US and coalition forces against any threat, Central Command said in the release. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have threatened to attack US facilities there because of American support for Israel. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias, issued a statement afterward claiming responsibility for the two attacks and ..

Two drone attacks on base hosting US troops intercepted in western Iraq

Two drones launched at a base hosting US troops in western Iraq were intercepted Wednesday, a US defence official said. Hours later, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq announced it had launched another drone attack on a second base. No injuries were reported in either incident. The salvos came at a time of increasing tension and fears of a broader regional conflict in the wake of the latest Hamas-Israel war. Since the beginning of the war on October 7, much attention has been focused on Hezbollah, the powerful Hamas ally across Israel's northern border in Lebanon, and its formidable arsenal. The group has traded so-far limited strikes with Israel on the border in recent days. But Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have also threatened to attack US facilities over American support for Israel. Our missiles, drones, and special forces are ready to direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battle, Ahmad Abu Hussein .

India confident of continuing discounts on Iraqi and Saudi crude oil

Share of imports from traditional middle eastern share has crept up even as Russian oil dominates

Turkey strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq after warning for Ankara bombing

Turkish warplanes launched a new round of airstrikes against Kurdish militant targets in Iraq on Wednesday hours after the foreign minister warned that Turkiye would hit the militant group's positions in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Ankara earlier this week. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack outside the Interior Ministry in Ankara in which one attacker blew himself up and another would-be bomber was killed in a shootout with police. Two police were wounded in the attack. The Turkish jets targeted 22 suspected PKK positions in northern Iraq on Wednesday, destroying caves, shelters, and depots used by the militants, the Turkish defence ministry said. The PKK maintains bases in the region, where its leadership has a foothold. It was the Turkish air force's third airstrike against suspected Kurdish militant sites in northern Iraq following the attack, which came as parliament prepared to reopen after a lon

India imports of Russian, Iraqi oil rebound in Sept after hitting 7-mth low

India imported about 1.55 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in September, 16% more than in August, while imports from Iraq increased by 17% to about 1.1 million bpd, LSEG data showed

Fire at wedding hall in northern Iraq kills at least 100, injures 150

A fire at a wedding hall in northern Iraq killed at least 100 people and injured 150 others, authorities said Wednesday. The fire happened in Iraq's Nineveh province in its Hamdaniya area, they said. That's just outside of the northern city of Mosul, some 335 kilometres northwest of the capital, Baghdad. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze. Television footage showed charred debris inside of the wedding hall as an man shouted at firefighters. Health authorities gave the casualty figure via the state-run Iraqi News Agency.

India's crude oil imports from Russia down 24% MoM, lowest in 7 months

Indian refiners also cut shipments from Iraq, another top supplier, by 10% on the month in August to 848,000 barrels a day

India likely to discuss crude oil discounts with Iraq and UAE soon

Refiners seek fixed commitment from middle-eastern suppliers akin to Russia

IS claims responsibility for attack that killed 20 Syrian soldiers

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an ambush in eastern Syria that killed at least 20 government soldiers and wounded others, warning that such attacks will continue. IS sleeper cells still carry deadly attacks despite their defeat in Syria in 2019. The group once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq where they declared a caliphate in 2014. The Friday night statement said IS fighters ambushed two army trucks in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour using different kinds of weapons. IS claimed that 40 members of the Syrian military were killed and 10 were wounded. Syrian opposition activists said the Thursday night attack on a bus carrying soldiers near the town of Mayadeen killed at least 20 soldiers and wounded others. State media said several soldiers were killed and wounded, without giving a breakdown. Let the whole world know that our allegiance to our leaders is practiced with deeds and not words and our Jihad is going on until Doomsday, IS said. Last w

WHO issues alert over another India-made syrup, flags' substandard' quality

Deaths due to toxic cough syrups first made headlines in October when the WHO issued a global alert for four such medicines manufactured in India

WHO raises alert on 'contaminated' India-made cough syrup in Iraq

WHO referred to one batch of substandard or contaminated syrup - Cold Out (Paracetamol and Chlorpheniramine Maleate) - in Iraq which was reported to the WHO on July 10

India-made cold syrup sent to Iraq tainted with toxic chemicals, shows test

A bottle of Cold Out purchased at a pharmacy in Baghdad in March contains 2.1 per cent ethylene glycol, according to Valisure LLC, an independent US laboratory

Protesters try to storm Baghdad Green Zone over burning of Quran in Denmark

Hundreds of protesters attempted to storm Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq's government, early Saturday following reports of the burning of a Quran carried out by a ultranationalist group in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen. They were pushed back by security forces, who blocked the Jumhuriya bridge leading to the Green Zone, preventing them from reaching the Danish Embassy. The protest came two days after people angered by the planned burning of the Islamic holy book in Sweden stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. Protesters occupied the diplomatic post for several hours, waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, and setting a small fire. The embassy staff had been evacuated a day earlier. Hours later, Iraq's prime minister cut diplomatic ties with Sweden in protest over the desecration of the Quran. An Iraqi asylum-seeker who burned a copy of the Qura

Iraq signs $27 billion energy deal with TotalEnergies, says report

TotalEnergies took a 45 per cent stake and QatarEnergy holds the remaining 25 per cent

Iraq president ratifies record $152 bn budget, IMF says 'too rosy'

Iraq's president on Wednesday approved a record USD 152 billion budget that the parliament voted on earlier this month and which adds about half a million public sector jobs. Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid ratified the budget, which has a projected deficit of USD 48 billion. Parliament last week voted on the draft, six months into the fiscal year and after months of negotiations. The main sticking point during the talks was the distribution of oil revenue between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region in the north. The approved draft consolidates Baghdad's authority over the oil sector and allocates 12.6 per cent of the revenue to the Kurdish region. The Iraqi Kurdish local government will be allowed to sell its own oil but will have to deposit the revenue first in a bank account that officials from the central government can monitor. Baghdad will then deduct that amount from its monthly allocation to the Kurdish regional government and ..

India aims to expand its annual oil purchases from Iraq: Hardeep Puri

India aims to expand its annual oil purchases from Iraq from 1 bn barrels currently, Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said on Twitter after meeting his Iraqi counterpart Hayan Abdel-Ghani in New Delhi

US' Antony Blinken announces $150M aid for Syria, Iraq at Saudi conference

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the U.S. would provide nearly USD 150 million in aid for areas in Syria and Iraq that were liberated from the Isamic State extremist group. He spoke at a ministerial conference hosted by Saudi Arabia on combatting the group, which no longer controls any territory but whose affiliates still carry out attacks across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS includes more than 80 countries and continues to coordinate action against the extremist group, which at its height controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq. Blinken said the U.S. pledge is part of new funding amounting to more than USD 600 million. Poor security and humanitarian conditions. Lack of economic opportunity. These are the fuel for the kind of desperation on which ISIS feeds and recruits, he said, using a common acronym for the extremist group. So we have to stay committed to our stabilisation goals. Blinken co-hosted the conference as pa