Military Airbase Targeted with Rockets by Unidentified Perpetrator
In Kirkuk, northern Iraq, two missiles hit an Iraqi airbase and a third fell in a civilian area, reportedly causing limited damage; two of the rockets were allegedly Katyusha rockets of Russian origin (Jerusalem Post)
Drone Attack Hits Iraqi Military Base That Formerly Housed U.S. Troops
No casualties were reported and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack (Reuters)
The base had been the site of repeated attacks on U.S. troops by Iran-backed militias before the United States withdrew from the site (NYT)
Non-Essential U.S. Embassy Baghdad Staff Told to Evacuate Country
Non-essential U.S. Embassy Baghdad staff and their dependents were ordered to evacuate Iraq amid security concerns (BBC)
The evacuation was likely set in motion by suspicions of an Israeli operation against Iran and the potential for Iranian retaliation on U.S. sites in Iraq following stalled talks over Iran’s nuclear program (Reuters)
U.S. Mideast Evacuations
The United States authorized the departure of diplomats from its embassy in Baghdad and the departure of military family members from the wider region amid concerns over tensions with Iran, unnamed U.S. officials told multiple news outlets (NYT;CNN)
Israel has reportedly signaled its readiness to attack Iran, and Iran’s defense minister said that the country would respond to potential strikes by attacking U.S. bases in the region (Reuters)
Over Nineteen Thousand Prisoners Freed This Year Under Iraqi Amnesty Law
The law aims to ameliorate overcrowding across the country’s prisons, freeing a number of former members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and it paused all executions on former ISIL operatives as well; Baghdad enacted the amnesty law in January, which received strong support from the country’s Sunni lawmakers, who claim that the country’s past clampdowns on ISIL unfairly targeted Sunni communities (Al Jazeera)
Iraqi Forces Arrest Islamic State Official With Suspected Link to New Years’ Attack in New Orleans
Iraqi officials stated that the United States had asked Baghdad for assistance in investigating potential co-conspirators of the perpetrator in the truck attack in January, which killed fifteen at a New Year’s celebration (AP)
Iraq Invites Al-Sharaa to Upcoming Arab League Summit in Baghdad
As Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa continues to court neighboring countries after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, several Shiite officials in Iraq came forward to criticize Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s decision to invite Al-Sharaa to the Arab League Summit on May 17; Al-Sharaa fought as a Sunni militant for Al-Qaeda in Iraq during the US invasion in 2003 and still faces terrorism charges in Iraq (AP)
Trump Administration Reverses Food Aid Cuts to Iraq
The administration informed the World Food Program (WFP) that it reversed aid cuts after USAID funds to the WFP in fourteen countries had been mistakenly cut, according to a U.S. Department of State spokesperson; USAID and UN officials stated that funding was restored for programs in Ecuador, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Somalia, and Syria, though funding cuts remain in Afghanistan and Yemen (AP)
Iran-Backed Militias May Disarm to Avoid Risk of Conflict With United States
U.S. officials relayed to Baghdad that it could carry out airstrikes against the Islamic Resistance militias in Iraq if they did not disband, and Iraqi officials stated that several militia commanders indicated their preparedness to comply; the commanders said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which backs the proxy group, remains open to their disarmament to avoid a larger conflict (Reuters)
Axe Attack on Assyrian Christians in Iraq Injures Three
The assailant targeted an annual parade by Assyrian Christians in Dohuk to celebrate the new year; upon apprehension, the video reportedly recorded the man shouting, “Islamic State, the Islamic State remains” (AP)
Iraq to Provide Fuel Supplies to Lebanon for Six More Months
The two parties originally agreed to the heavy fuel oil deal in 2021, in which Iraq provides fuel to Lebanon in exchange for Lebanese health services to Iraqi citizens; the extension of the deal comes as Lebanon faces a critical financial crisis, exacerbated by a deteriorating power shortage (Reuters)
Iraq Plans to Double Turkish Electricity Imports After Bilateral Agreement
The new electricity imports will serve to compensate for expected shortages after the United States terminated a waiver allowing for Iranian electricity imports; Iraqi and Turkish officials also discussed increasing gas cooperation during their meeting (The Arab Weekly)
Islamic State Senior Leader Killed in U.S.-Iraq Joint Operation
U.S. Central Command confirmed the death of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) senior operative Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai in Iraq after conducting a “precision airstrike” (BBC)
Iraq Faces Deepening Electricity Shortages After U.S. Restricts Electricity Purchases From Iran
The U.S. Department of State announced the termination of a 2018 waiver that permitted Iraq to continue purchases from Iran despite heavy U.S.-imposed sanctions against Iran; Washington’s decision comes as President Trump seeks to impose “maximum pressure” on Iran and limit its economic relief, but Baghdad stated that Iraq does not have an alternative electricity supplier to compensate for its dependence on Iran (Al Jazeera)
Resumption of Oil Exports From Kurdistan Delayed After Financial Disputes Between Iraq’s Oil Ministry and Oil Companies
A planned meeting on Tuesday between both parties was postponed to Thursday, March 6, after disagreements arose over pricing and payment guarantees to the oil companies for past and future exports (Reuters)
Oil Exports from Kurdistan to Resume at 185,000 Barrels Per Day If Turkey Approves
Baghdad hopes for Turkish approval within two days to resume crude oil exports from Kurdistan by later this week (Bloomberg)
In anticipation of the resumption and new supply of Kurdish exports, along with U.S.-Russia peace talks, crude oil prices dropped (Economic Times)
United States Threatens Sanctions Against Iraq if Kurdish Oil Exports Do Not Resume
President Trump stated that the United States could levy sanctions against Iraq to isolate Iran’s economy, as the two-year embargo and closure of the Turkish oil pipeline prompted the smuggling of oil from Kurdistan into Iran; Kurdish oil reportedly generates $1 billion a year for Iran (Reuters)
Turkey Does Not Confirm Iraq’s Plans to Resume Oil Exports from Kurdistan
Turkey’s Energy Ministry stated that Iraq has yet to communicate its plans with Turkey, which would require the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to end the two-year embargo on oil exports from Kurdistan (Reuters)
Oil Exports From Kurdistan Region May Resume by Next Week
The Iraqi government plans to negotiate export terms this week, with the hopes of ending a two-year embargo on Kurdish oil exports and alleviating economic pressure on the Kurdistan region (Reuters)
Iraq Parliament Approves Subsidies of Oil Exports from Kurdistan
The subsidies aim to alleviate economic pressure and salary delays in Kurdistan and mark a step towards ending a two-year halt on its oil exports by Turkey; the new budgetary amendment provides subsidies at $16 per oil barrel, doubling the amount of a previously-rejected proposal by the Kurdistan Regional Government (Reuters)
Two Iraqi Border Guards Killed in Attack by PKK Militants Near Turkish Border
Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) shot and killed the border guards after the latter denied their passage through the border checkpoint in Zakho, Kurdistan (Reuters)
Preliminary Census Results Show Iraqi Population Has Grown to 45.4 Million People
An unofficial count in 2009 estimated it was home to 31.6 million people; detailed results in the coming weeks will include information about the breakdown of different religious groups (AP)
Iraq Begins First National Census in Decades
While a census in 1997 excluded the Kurdish region, Iraqi officials said agreements with Kurdish and other ethnic representatives will allow all ethnic groups to be counted (AP)
U.S. Jury Finds U.S. Government Contractor Liable for Torture Committed at Abu Ghraib Detention Center
The jury said CACI International must pay $42 million in damages for torture committed in 2003-2004; it was the first time a civilian contractor was held legally responsible for torture at the detention center near Baghdad (Reuters)
Iraq Elects Parliamentary Speaker After Nearly Yearlong Impasse
The parliament chose Sunni lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as speaker after disputes between political factions had left the position vacant for almost a year (Reuters)