Tensions Persist between Sadrists, Dawa Supporters in Iraq 

A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Tensions Persist between Sadrists, Dawa Supporters in Iraq 

A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)
A supporter of Moqtada al-Sadr raises a picture of the cleric, as others demonstrate inside the courtyard of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad after they breached the building briefly over the burning of the Quran by an Iraqi living in Sweden, on June 29, 2023. (AFP)

Tensions persisted between Iraq’s Sadrist movement, headed by influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Dawa party, headed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in spite of their efforts to calm the situation.

The tensions had erupted when a supporter of the Dawa had made offensive remarks against Sadr’s late father, prominent Shiite cleric Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999. The former Iraqi regime is blamed for his killing.

The Dawa party condemned the offense and the Sadrist movement welcomed the statement, thanking members of the party, except for its leader, Maliki.

The Dawa had also called for drafting a law that would criminalize insults to major clerics, especially late Shiite authorities Mohammed Baqer al-Sadr, who was executed by the former regime in 1980, and Sadr’s father.

Relations are already strained between the Dawa and Sadrists in wake of the clashes that erupted in Baghdad’s Green Zone in August 2022. The clashes pitted Sadr supporters against the Coordination Framework and left over 60 dead and hundreds wounded.

In spite of the statements from both parties, tensions persisted on the ground, sparked by attacks against positions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Najaf city and other areas and against two Dawa party headquarters.

The attacks were blamed “unknown gunmen”, a term used in Iraq to refer to a “third party”, which is often accused of carrying out such attacks to avoid an open confrontation between the Dawa and Sadrists.

Moqtada al-Sadr visited on Monday the buildings that were damaged in the attack.

“Sadr’s Minister”, Saleh Mohammed al-Iraqi, tweeted that Sadr “rejects violence and the use of arms by any party.”

Meanwhile, a prominent member of the Sadrist movement, Hassan al-Athari accused the Dawa of insulting the memory of Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr for alleging that he had ties with Saddam Hussein’s former regime.

The Dawa issued a statement to refute Athari’s remarks. It clarified that media claiming to be affiliated with the Dawa were making such statements. It stressed that the party was not linked to these websites and media.

Furthermore, such claims aim at “sowing strife between brothers”.

“All of our platforms and media are committed to journalistic standards and publishing laws. The party would never insult anyone or publish anything that would fuel hostility,” it stated.



Iraq's Kurdish Oil Exports Restart is Not Imminent

An oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: Kurdistan government media/AFP
An oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: Kurdistan government media/AFP
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Iraq's Kurdish Oil Exports Restart is Not Imminent

An oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: Kurdistan government media/AFP
An oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: Kurdistan government media/AFP

A restart of Iraq's Kurdish oil exports is not imminent, sources close to the matter said on Friday, despite Iraq's federal government saying on Thursday that shipments would resume immediately.

Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government have been in negotiations since February to end a stand-off that has halted flows from the north of the country to Türkiye's port of Ceyhan. The KRG was producing about 435,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the pipeline closure in March 2023, Reuters reported.

On Thursday the federal government said that Iraqi Kurdistan would resume oil exports immediately through the pipeline to Türkiye's despite drone attacks that have shut down half of the region's output.

But on Friday a source at APIKUR, a group of oil companies working in Kurdistan, said that a restart depended on the receipt of written agreements. Another at KAR Group, which operates the pipeline, said that no preparations had been made for a restart.

Baghdad and the companies have not yet agreed how to restart the exports, a KRG government source said, while a source at Türkiye's Ceyhan said there was also no preparation at the terminal for a restart of flows.

On Thursday, a statement from KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the government had approved a joint understanding with the federal government and it was awaiting financial details.

Similar agreements in the past failed to secure a resumption in exports and it remains unclear if this deal will succeed.

Oil companies working in Kurdistan have previously demanded that their production-sharing contracts should remain unchanged and their debts of nearly $1 billion be settled under any agreement.

Oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan have been attacked by drones this week, with officials pointing to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of the attacks, although no group has claimed responsibility.

They are the first such attacks on oilfields in the region and coincide with the first attacks in seven months on shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen.

On Thursday a strike hit an oilfield operated by Norway's DNO in Tawke, the region's counter-terrorism service said.

It was the week's second strike on a site operated by DNO, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabour oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Türkiye.

No casualties have been reported, but oil output in the region has been cut by between 140,000 bpd and 150,000 bpd, two energy officials said.