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Tehran Receives $1.6 Bln in Gas Debt from Iraq

(Asharq Al-Awsat)
(Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Tehran Receives $1.6 Bln in Gas Debt from Iraq

(Asharq Al-Awsat)
(Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iran said on Thursday it has received $1.6 billion from Iraq to settle part of the debts it has sought from its neighbor since 2020 for the supply of gas.

“In light of the active energy diplomacy, and after months of negotiations, $1.6 billion in arrears... for gas exports to Iraq have been received,” Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji tweeted, Tasnim news agency reported.

“Since the beginning of the year, compared to 2021, the country's gas export volume has increased by 25% and the collection of revenues has also increased by 90%,” Owji added. The Iranian new year begins on March 21.

Iraq’s Electricity Ministry spokesman Ahmed Moussa said the government has started paying off its debts for gas imports from Iran by borrowing from the Trade Bank of Iraq, adding that the Ministry of Finance deposited the money in the Credit Fund.

“We are still relying on Emergency Support Law to repay our dues,” Tasnim quoted Moussa as saying.

Baghdad had been scheduled to pay that amount to Tehran before June.

The debt dates back to 2020, but payment was stalled amid sanctions against Iran by the United States.

Iran’s deputy oil minister, Majid Chegeni, said last month that an agreement had been reached with Iraq for it to pay $1.6 billion in arrears by the end of May.

Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet energy needs.

Iran provides a third of Iraq’s gas and electricity needs, but supplies are regularly cut or reduced, aggravating shortages caused by daily load shedding.

Separately, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday that Iranian authorities have seized a vessel carrying 90,000 liters of smuggled fuel in the waters around Kish Island in the Gulf.

The captain and five other crew members were issued with criminal warrants and have been detained, IRNA added.

Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring states and by sea to Gulf Arab countries.

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World

Iran Executed 18 Protesters in 2026, Says UN

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks to the media, at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Keystone via AP)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks to the media, at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Keystone via AP)
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Iran Executed 18 Protesters in 2026, Says UN

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks to the media, at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Keystone via AP)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks to the media, at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Keystone via AP)

Iran has executed at least 40 people, including 18 protesters, on "national security grounds" since the start of 2026, the United Nations said Monday.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said he felt "deeply for the people in Iran, caught between war and cruel repression".

Since the start of the year, the Iranian authorities "have executed at least 40 people on national security grounds... including 18 protesters", he told the UN Human Rights Council.

Iran executes more people annually than any other nation besides China, according to rights groups.

Turk lamented that Tehran had ramped up repression since a deadly crackdown on protests in January, on top of the Middle East war, sparked in February by US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

He welcomed the announcement on Sunday that the United States and Iran had agreed a peace deal, stressing that "it is clear all sides need to exercise maximum restraint and work to implement the agreement reached, quickly and in good faith".

The conflict, he said, "has had a devastating impact on human rights across the region and around the world".

Repression in Iran was dire even before the war.

In late December, a protest movement sparked by economic pains quickly expanded into mass anti-government rallies, which were met by a crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands.

Iranian authorities portrayed the protests as riots backed by the United States and Israel and said the violence killed around 3,000 people.

Rights groups abroad put the toll higher and accused the security forces of firing at demonstrators.

"Since killing thousands of people during the egregious crushing of protests in January, the authorities have intensified their brutal crackdown, arresting thousands and imposing even more severe restrictions on civic space," Turk said.

World

Congo Reports Record One-Day Increase in Ebola Cases, a Month After Outbreak’s Declaration

Dz'na Lipe Jean‑Marie, secretary of the displacement camp, speaks during an Ebola awareness session as humanitarian agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, at Kpangba displacement camp where Ebola cases were observed, Djugu territory in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 13, 2026. (Reuters)
Dz'na Lipe Jean‑Marie, secretary of the displacement camp, speaks during an Ebola awareness session as humanitarian agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, at Kpangba displacement camp where Ebola cases were observed, Djugu territory in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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Congo Reports Record One-Day Increase in Ebola Cases, a Month After Outbreak’s Declaration

Dz'na Lipe Jean‑Marie, secretary of the displacement camp, speaks during an Ebola awareness session as humanitarian agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, at Kpangba displacement camp where Ebola cases were observed, Djugu territory in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 13, 2026. (Reuters)
Dz'na Lipe Jean‑Marie, secretary of the displacement camp, speaks during an Ebola awareness session as humanitarian agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, at Kpangba displacement camp where Ebola cases were observed, Djugu territory in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 13, 2026. (Reuters)

Congolese authorities have reported one of the highest increase in Ebola cases in one day, as weak contact tracing, insecurity and funding gaps continue to hinder the response a month after the outbreak was declared.

The Congolese Ministry of Health said Sunday 72 new cases were reported in a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 782. This includes 181 confirmed deaths, after 32 new deaths were confirmed.

However, the number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on May 15, weeks after it is suspected to have begun, and the contact tracing coverage rate is at 56%, a sharp decrease from last week.

The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the Zaire virus, which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Fifty-six people have recovered, and the current fatality rate of the outbreak is 23%, the ministry said.

The World Health Organization said Sunday it is intensifying testing and contact tracing and treatment.

Africa's top health body said the same day it is deploying technical expertise and supporting laboratory systems, active case finding and community engagement efforts to accelerate the response to the disease outbreak.

“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilize resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” said the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya.

The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and have spread across the border to Uganda.

Nearly a million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the UN humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.

Tracing is also difficult among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.

World

Iran's Fars News Agency Says Hormuz Maritime Fees Added to US Deal Last Minute

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 14, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 14, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Iran's Fars News Agency Says Hormuz Maritime Fees Added to US Deal Last Minute

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 14, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 14, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Iran's Fars news agency said on Monday, quoting what it said was an informed source, that Tehran added a clause on imposing maritime service fees to the framework deal with the United States shortly before its announcement.

"In the final moments of the negotiations, the text of the memorandum of understanding was amended to clearly and explicitly emphasize the issue of the Iranian-Omani sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz," said Fars, citing the unidentified source.

"The use of the term 'maritime services' means that the United States has accepted that fees will be paid to Iran," it added.