Senior US Official in Algeria for Talks on Tunisian Crisis, Terrorism Fight

US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)
US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)
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Senior US Official in Algeria for Talks on Tunisian Crisis, Terrorism Fight

US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)
US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)

US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood discussed with Algerian officials on Monday the developments in neighboring Tunisia following President Kais Saied’s decision to sack the government and suspend parliament.

Earlier, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had received a phone call from Saied to tackle developments in Tunisia.

“The two presidents also addressed the prospects for Algerian-Tunisian relations and the ways and means of their consolidation,” said a statement from the Algerian presidency.

Meanwhile, Hood was received by Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on Sunday, according to an Algerian foreign ministry statement.

The pair discussed “prospects for the promotion of peaceful political solutions to the various crises undermining the peace and security in North Africa and the Middle East”, it said. They also touched on the fight “against terrorism in the Sahel” and “the situation in Libya, Mali and Western Sahara."

Hood also “had fruitful discussions” with Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane, the US embassy said.

Sources revealed that Algeria and the US are keen on the Libyans resolving their problems through political means. They also discussed the latest talks between Washington and Ankara on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Libya.

Hood praised the key role Algeria plays in maintaining stability in the region.

His two-day visit is part of a tour in the Middle East and North Africa that started on July 24 and includes stops in Morocco and Kuwait.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.