Leading Sadrist Member Slams Turkey, Iran for Attacking Iraq

A picture taken on April 19, 2022 shows smoke billowing from behind the mountains of Matin (Jabal Matin) in the town of Chiladze following a Turkish offensive targeting fighters in the north's autonomous Kurdistan region. (AFP)
A picture taken on April 19, 2022 shows smoke billowing from behind the mountains of Matin (Jabal Matin) in the town of Chiladze following a Turkish offensive targeting fighters in the north's autonomous Kurdistan region. (AFP)
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Leading Sadrist Member Slams Turkey, Iran for Attacking Iraq

A picture taken on April 19, 2022 shows smoke billowing from behind the mountains of Matin (Jabal Matin) in the town of Chiladze following a Turkish offensive targeting fighters in the north's autonomous Kurdistan region. (AFP)
A picture taken on April 19, 2022 shows smoke billowing from behind the mountains of Matin (Jabal Matin) in the town of Chiladze following a Turkish offensive targeting fighters in the north's autonomous Kurdistan region. (AFP)

Iraq's First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hakim al-Zamili accused on Sunday Iran and Turkey of exploiting his country's weakness to launch military attacks and operations on its territories.

Zamili, who is a leading member of the Sadr movement of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, noted that the violations by Ankara and Tehran had increased in recent weeks.

He made his remarks at a meeting at parliament aimed at addressing the repeated Turkish and Iranian attacks. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and head of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc Hassan al-Athari.

Athari said the violations pose a threat to Iraq and undermine its diplomacy.

Addressing Hussein, he asked what Iraq was doing to address the violations.

He also wondered whether there was any credibility to reports that spoke of an agreement between Iraq and Turkey that allows Turkish forces to enter 30 kilometers deep into Iraqi territory.

Last week, Turkey announced the start of a new ground and air campaign in northern Iraq, targeting Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.

Dubbed Operation Claw-Lock, Ankara says the offensive is a measure to prevent the PKK from using Iraq as a base to carry out attacks in Turkey.

Last month, Iran fired 12 ballistic missiles at Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Iran said the barrage was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of the Revolutionary Guards that month. Iranian state media said the Guards had launched the attack against Israeli "strategic centers" in Erbil.

Global media professor Dr. Ghaleb al-Daami told Asharq Al-Awsat there was a difference between what Turkey was doing in Iraq versus what Iran was doing.

He explained that Ankara had informed the Iraqi and Kurdish governments that internationally designated terrorist groups were operating in Iraq and so it moved to attack them.

He criticized Turkey for deploying forces to Iraq under the pretext of fighting these groups, describing their presence there as a form of occupation and violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

As for Iran, he said it also has alleged that an armed Iranian opposition group was operating in Iraq and so it shelled their positions.

Tehran, however, failed to inform the Iraqi government that it was going to attack Erbil, he added.

That attack was politically-motivated, al-Daami charged. That sort of meddling is categorically rejected.

Turkey and Iran must understand that their meddling in Iraqi affairs and violations against its territories is illegal. They must be deterred, he urged.

The Iraqi government must purge Iraqi territories from armed groups, whether they are Turkish or Iranian, so that neighboring countries no longer have an excuse to meddle in Iraq's affairs, he remarked.



Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
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Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)

A drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Tuesday only hours before its US operator signed a deal to develop another field.

The Sarsang field is operated by HKN Energy, a privately held US oil and gas company active in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and owned by Hillwood Energy, part of the Hillwood group founded by Ross Perot Jr.

Two hours after the morning attack, HKN Vice President Matthew Zais was in Baghdad with Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani to sign a preliminary agreement to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said, Reuters reported.

The signing ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador Steven Fagin, whose embassy condemned the drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan region and urged the Iraqi government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Washington said such attacks undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and efforts to attract foreign investment.

Production at the Sarsang field was halted as a precautionary measure after an explosion, two engineers told Reuters.

Kurdistan regional authorities confirmed that the blast was from a drone attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said that initial investigations suggested that the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias.

Heavy plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Sarsang field in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq, said one oil engineer at the field.

Field operator HKN said that the halt to production was to allow firefighters to extinguish the fire, later adding that emergency response teams contained the damage.

There were no casualties, Iraqi Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and HKN said.

The incident is under investigation and a full assessment of the damage has been initiated, the company said without providing further detail on the cause of the explosion.

On Monday two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging the water pipes at the field.