Iraqi PM Accuses Turkey of Exploiting Ilisu Dam for Political Purposes

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi. (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi. (Reuters)
TT
20

Iraqi PM Accuses Turkey of Exploiting Ilisu Dam for Political Purposes

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi. (Reuters)
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi. (Reuters)

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi accused on Tuesday the Turkish government of exploiting the Ilisu dam for political purposes, slamming the timing it chose to fill up the dam.

He explained that Ankara deliberately chose the timing to exploit the issue for “political and electoral purposes.”

Turkey is set to hold snap elections on June 24.

An agreement had been reached between Iraq and Turkey for Ankara to start filling the dam on June 1, but it kicked off operation back on March 1, drawing Baghdad’s anger.

Iraq is currently suffering from a stifling drought and the Ilisu dam on the Tigris River has only compounded the problem.

Addressing criticism that successive Iraqi governments had failed since 2003 to construct dams in the country, Abadi remarked: “We do not need to build dams, because the ones we already have have not been filled to capacity.”

“Once we have a surplus, then we will build new dams.”

Iraq’s water resources minister Hassan al-Janabi informed Asharq Al-Awsat, however, that the “crisis, despite its severity, was still under control because the minimum amount of potable and irrigation water was being provided.”

Concerns have been voiced over next year’s crops.

Abadi stressed that contacts are ongoing with Turkey and Iran over the water shortage and the Tigris issue.

He assured the people that Iraq has sufficient water reserves.

Meanwhile, head of the Sadr movement, Moqtada al-Sadr, made a number of proposals aimed at resolving the water crisis.

Among them was a call for the Foreign Ministry or concerned ministries to convene a meeting for the Iraq basin countries to address the crisis.

Another, he said via his Twitter account, was having the concerned Iraqi ministries form a permanent committee that would be tasked with finding the causes and reaching solutions for water safety problems.



US Imposes Fresh Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah

Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)
Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

US Imposes Fresh Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil Trade, Hezbollah

Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)
Supporters of Hezbollah carry flags of Hezbollah as they shout slogans during a celebration organized by Hezbollah in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 June 2025. (EPA)

The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.

A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil since at least 2020, the department said.

"Treasury will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The US has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran's oil exports over its nuclear program and funding of militant groups across the Middle East.

Reuters reported late last year that a fuel-oil smuggling network that generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since 2022.

Thursday's sanctions came after the US carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites including its most deeply buried enrichment plant, Fordow. The Pentagon said on Wednesday the strikes had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, despite a far more cautious initial assessment that had leaked to the public.

The US and Iran were expected to hold talks about its nuclear program next week in Oslo, Axios reported.

Said’s companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions, Treasury said.

Said controls UAE-based company VS Tankers though he avoids formal association with it, Treasury said. Formerly known as Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT), VS Tankers has smuggled oil for the benefit of the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, it said.

The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.

VS Tankers denied Treasury's assertions and said it will "pursue all legal remedies as necessary." Iran's mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US also sanctioned several vessels that are accused of engaging in the covert delivery of Iranian oil, intensifying pressure on Iran’s "shadow fleet," it said.

The Treasury Department also issued sanctions against several senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

The officials, the department said, conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefited, but obscured, Hezbollah.