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Iraq, Oil Firms Trade Blame Over Shut Türkiye Pipeline 

A general view of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline linking Iraq and Türkiye at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (Reuters)
A general view of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline linking Iraq and Türkiye at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (Reuters)
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Iraq, Oil Firms Trade Blame Over Shut Türkiye Pipeline 

A general view of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline linking Iraq and Türkiye at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (Reuters)
A general view of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline linking Iraq and Türkiye at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. (Reuters)

Foreign oil firms operating in Iraq's Kurdistan region are partly to blame for the delay in resuming crude exports after failing to submit contracts for revision, Iraq's oil ministry said.

The Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline (ITP) which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply has been halted, stuck in legal and financial limbo, since March 2023.

The flows were halted after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce in a longstanding arbitration case ruled Ankara had violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating such exports without the consent of the Iraqi federal government.

Iraq's oil ministry in a statement published late on Sunday noted that foreign companies, alongside the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, have still not submitted contracts for revision to the ministry.

The government is seeking to revise such deals after a court ruled ones signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) were invalid, it said in response to a statement on Saturday by the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR).

Iraq's federal court in 2022 deemed an oil and gas law regulating the Kurdistan region's oil and gas industry as unconstitutional.

Iraq owes Türkiye minimum payments as long as the pipeline is technically operational - estimated by consultancy Wood Mackenzie at around $25 million per month. APIKUR has cited a similar figure saying it understands Iraq owes $800,000 in daily penalties.

APIKUR said the government of Iraq had not "taken the required actions" to reopen ITP, adding that "there has been no real progress" to reopen ITP despite meetings in Baghdad in January between representatives of the Iraqi government, the KRG and international oil companies.

APIKUR said its member companies' "current commercial terms and economic model must be maintained" and called for payment assurances for past and future oil exports.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is due to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington on April 15 to discuss the future of the US-led coalition in Iraq, as well as Iraqi financial reforms and a US push to wean Iraq - a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran - off Iranian power and gas.

APIKUR said it had conveyed to members of Biden's administration and Congress that the White House should not proceed with the planned visit unless flows through ITP resume, international oil firms get payment assurances and the Iraqi government fully implements the Iraqi federal budget for the KRG.

Responding to a Reuters request for comment, a US State Department spokesperson said the US government "encourages all parties to reach an agreement to resume the flow of oil through the Iraq- Türkiye pipeline as soon as possible."

"Restarting oil exports through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline would be beneficial for all parties," the spokesperson said.

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Business

Hapag-Lloyd Says US Plans to Block Hormuz Difficult to Assess

(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)
(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)
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Hapag-Lloyd Says US Plans to Block Hormuz Difficult to Assess

(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)
(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday that it is difficult to assess what effect US President Donald Trump's plans to block the Strait of Hormuz would have on shipping.

"What's important is that passage through the Strait of Hormuz be restored as soon as possible," said a company spokesperson in an emailed statement.

From Hapag-Lloyd's view, as long as there are mines, passage is not possible, and in addition, insurance for passage is also difficult to obtain at this time, added the spokesperson.

Business

UN: Iran War Could Plunge 32 million into Poverty

People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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UN: Iran War Could Plunge 32 million into Poverty

People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

More than 32 million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Iran war, with developing countries expected to be hit hardest, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) warned.

In a report issued amid doubts over a fragile ceasefire, the UNDP said the world is facing a “triple shock” involving energy, food and weaker economic growth.

The agency said the conflict is reversing gains in international development, with the impact expected to be felt unevenly across regions.

Alexander De Croo, UNDP administrator and former prime minister of Belgium, said: “A conflict like this is development in reverse. Even if the war stops, and a ceasefire is very welcome, the impact is already there.”

“You will see an enduring impact, especially in poorer countries, where people are being pushed back into poverty. This is the most painful aspect. The people being pushed into poverty are very often the same people who were in poverty, escaped it, and are now being pushed back.”

Energy prices surged sharply during the six weeks of the Iran war after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked global oil and gas supplies. With knock-on effects on fertilizer supplies and global shipping, experts warn of a “time bomb” threatening food security in the developing world.

The head of the International Monetary Fund said the war’s “devastating effects” have caused lasting damage to the global economy, even if the conflict ends.

Publishing its report alongside meetings of world leaders in Washington for the IMF Spring Meetings, the UNDP said a global response is required to support countries hardest hit by the economic fallout.

It said targeted and temporary cash transfers are needed to protect the most vulnerable households in developing countries, at a cost of about $6 billion to mitigate the shocks for those living below the poverty line.

De Croo said international agencies and development banks could provide financial support. “There is a positive economic return from short-term cash transfers to avoid people being pushed back into poverty,” he said. Alternative measures could include temporary subsidies or vouchers for electricity or cooking gas.

Setting out three scenarios for the war, the UNDP found that in the worst case – involving six weeks of major disruption to oil and gas production and eight months of sustained higher costs – up to 32.5 million people globally would fall into poverty.

The report used the upper-middle-income poverty line defined by the World Bank, set at less than $8.30 per person per day.

The UNDP said that while richer countries are in a stronger position to cushion the economic fallout, countries in the global south face weaker conditions and already severe financial constraints.

This comes as western governments, including the US, Germany, France and the UK, cut aid spending amid rising borrowing and debt levels in advanced economies and calls to increase defense spending.

Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published last week showed that countries in its Development Assistance Committee cut aid spending to $174.3 billion in 2025, nearly a quarter lower than in 2024.

Business

EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
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EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

The European Union's member states must coordinate on energy prices amid a 22 billion euro ($25.70 billion) increase in fossil fuel bills since the start of the Iran war, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

"We're also looking into ... coordination of member states' gas storage filling to avoid that many member states go to the market at the same time," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.

"And we will coordinate oil stock releases, to achieve the largest possible effect, and we will ensure that member states' emergency measures will not impact the single market."

The EU Commission is planning to publish proposals for energy price measures on April 22, to be discussed by EU leaders at their informal summit next week, according to Reuters.

Separately the EU's executive arm will present an electrification strategy before the summer, von der Leyen said as she stressed the need for structural measures to lower energy prices as well.

"We are paying a very high price for our global dependency on fossil fuels, and the grim reality for our continent is fossil fuel energy will remain the most expensive option in the years to come," von der Leyen said.

"Our strategy to decarbonize has not only been confirmed in the last years, but is growing in importance day by day," she added.