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.



Norway Refuses to Toughen Investment Rules in Israeli Companies

 This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Norway Refuses to Toughen Investment Rules in Israeli Companies

 This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)

The Norwegian parliament on Wednesday rejected moves to toughen rules on its sovereign wealth fund investing in companies operating in the occupied West Bank.

Lawmakers voted by 88 to 16 against a proposal to order the fund to withdraw from companies "that contribute to Israel's war crimes and the illegal occupation" of the West Bank.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, fueled by vast revenue from the country's oil and gas exports, is the biggest the world and has nearly $1.65 trillion invested around the globe.

The government though is under pressure to use its financial clout to influence Israeli policy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, where its settlement policy has been deemed illegal under international law.

In a letter signed by about 50 non-governmental organizations, Norway's main union LO called on the Labor government to ensure that the fund's investments were in line with the country's legal obligations.

The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories on May 20 urged Oslo to "fully and unconditionally divest from all entities linked to Israel's unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory".

Francesca Albanese said Norway's fund held $121.5 billion -- or 6.9 percent of its total value -- in companies "involved in supporting or enabling egregious violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories".

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg in response called for an end to violence, the liberation of Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 and the resumption of humanitarian aid.

But he said the fund's investments "do not violate Norway's obligations under international law".

The fund is regulated by a raft of ethical rules and has already divested from 11 companies because of their activities in the occupied West Bank.

In May, it withdrew its investment in Paz Retail and Energy, which distributes fuel in Israeli settlements.

Relations between Norway and Israel have soured since May 2024, when the country joined Spain and Ireland in recognizing the state of Palestine.