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Iran’s Allies Seek to Obstruct Iraq's Grand Faw Port Project

Iraq's director general at the General Company for Ports, Farhan al-Fartousi, signs a contract with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction, to construct the Grand Faw port, in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2020. (Reuters)
Iraq's director general at the General Company for Ports, Farhan al-Fartousi, signs a contract with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction, to construct the Grand Faw port, in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Iran’s Allies Seek to Obstruct Iraq's Grand Faw Port Project

Iraq's director general at the General Company for Ports, Farhan al-Fartousi, signs a contract with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction, to construct the Grand Faw port, in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2020. (Reuters)
Iraq's director general at the General Company for Ports, Farhan al-Fartousi, signs a contract with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction, to construct the Grand Faw port, in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Iraq’s signing on Wednesday of a $2.625 billion deal with South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction to build the first phase at its planned Faw commodities port has revealed a dispute between two Iraqi camps over which country should oversee the construction.

Opinion is split between one camp that wants South Korea to take over the project, located in the southern Basra province, and another that wants China to be involved.

The first camp includes Prime Minister Mustsfa al-Kadhimi and political forces that support him, such as the Sairoon coalition of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the al-Hikma alliance led by Ammar al-Hakim. The second camp is comprised mainly of the Fateh alliance of the Popular Mobilization Forces and other parties that are known for their allegiance to Iran.

The positions from both camps over the project, expressed before and after the deal was inked, reveal just how deeply local forces are affected by the stances of regional and international powers. The dispute was not born yesterday, but has been brewing for weeks between the abovementioned camps.

The differing positions can be understood by expanding the overall political scene in Iraq and how it is affected by regional and international interests. Moreover, the South Korean company has been overseeing the al-Faw Grand Port for years and has never been met with such strong opposition as it is today from Iran’s allies.

Under the contract, signed in Baghdad by representatives of Iraq’s transportation ministry and the South Korean company, Daewoo E&C will handle construction work including building five berths to unload ships and a yard for containers.

Daweoo will also carry out dredging and drilling works to create an access navigation channel, Farhan al-Fartousi, Iraq’s director general at the General Company for Ports, told Reuters on the sidelines of a signing ceremony at the transportation ministry headquarters.

The first phase should allow the port to receive three million containers, and all the construction work should be finished in around four years, said Fartousi.

No sooner had the deal been announced that the Fateh alliance and other pro-Iran blocs kicked off efforts to collect signatures to file a request to debrief the minster of transportation.

The alliance claimed that the deal will lead to a “massive waste of public funds and confirms the suspicions of corruption.”

Secretary General of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Qais al-Khazali slammed the deal, saying the corrupt figures who agreed to it will “eventually be exposed.”

“The people know who you are and will hold you accountable for this major crime against their future,” he tweeted.

“For our part, we will work tirelessly to thwart this crime against Iraq and we hope the honorable people will support us,” he added.

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Arab World

Muted Responses to Deadly Houthi Escalation and Rising Insurance Costs

The Greek ship Magic Seas sank in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks (Reuters). 
The Greek ship Magic Seas sank in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks (Reuters). 
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Muted Responses to Deadly Houthi Escalation and Rising Insurance Costs

The Greek ship Magic Seas sank in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks (Reuters). 
The Greek ship Magic Seas sank in the Red Sea as a result of Houthi attacks (Reuters). 

As the Houthi threat to international shipping grows ever more serious - most recently with the sinking of two Greek vessels, killing three sailors and leaving twelve missing - there has been little substantial reaction from major world powers. The United States, Germany’s foreign minister, and the UN envoy to Yemen were among the few to voice concern and call for de-escalation.

While Houthi attacks intensify across the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, insurance premiums for commercial ships in these waters have surged to as much as 1% of a vessel’s value, according to leading global insurers. This underscores the scale of the risk and the declining confidence in protecting this vital maritime corridor.

The two assaults targeted the cargo ships Magic Seas and True Confidence between Sunday and Tuesday last week. According to the EU naval mission Aspides, tasked with safeguarding Red Sea navigation, the attacks killed at least three sailors, wounded others, and left a dozen unaccounted for.

The strike on the Liberian-flagged Greek-operated True Confidence marked a dangerous escalation. The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying they used an explosive-laden drone boat and six ballistic and cruise missiles. They alleged the ship was heading to Israel’s port of Eilat, though independent verification was lacking.

Despite the scale of the violence, most global capitals limited their responses to brief statements. Only the US ambassador to the UN issued a pointed condemnation, along with remarks from a State Department spokesperson and a statement by UN envoy Hans Grundberg.

The US denounced the attacks as “terrorist and unjustified,” describing them as evidence of the “ongoing threat posed by Iranian-backed Houthis to regional maritime security and commerce.” The US ambassador stressed Washington’s commitment to denying the Houthis resources to fund such operations and called on the UN Security Council to remove obstacles blocking its expert monitoring teams in Yemen.

The State Department likewise condemned the attacks as a threat to the freedom of navigation and economic stability. “We will continue to take necessary steps to protect commercial shipping,” the statement warned, urging the broader international community to condemn the Houthis’ actions.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Iran must use its influence to halt Houthi attacks. Speaking in Vienna alongside his Israeli and Austrian counterparts, he declared: “We strongly condemn these attacks and expect Iran to act to stop them.”

UN envoy Grundberg expressed deep concern about the sinking of True Confidence, warning of the humanitarian and environmental consequences of such operations, which violate international law and Security Council Resolution 2722. He urged the Houthis to provide sustainable guarantees to end attacks and build on prior understandings with the United States.

Oman had brokered a limited agreement last May under which the Houthis pledged to stop targeting American ships in return for a suspension of broad US-led military action - though the deal excluded Israel.

A Dangerous Precedent

Yemeni officials say the tepid reactions from much of the world send the Houthis the wrong message, reinforcing their sense of impunity. On Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi boasted in his weekly address about sinking the vessels, calling it a “clear lesson” to any shipping company doing business with Israel.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have carried out over 150 attacks, disrupting global trade flows through the Red Sea. Their operations have sunk British and Greek ships and damaged many more, including hijacking the Galaxy Leader and holding its crew for over a year.