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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
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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.

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Arab World

Jordan Says it Shot Down 4 Missiles Launched by Iran

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
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Jordan Says it Shot Down 4 Missiles Launched by Iran

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo

The Jordanian military said on Monday it had shot down four Iranian missiles over the country, which Tehran said were intended as retaliation for US strikes.

"At dawn today, air defense systems intercepted and shot down four missiles that had entered Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory," an official source from the Jordanian General Staff said

There were no reports of injuries or damage to property.

Arab World

Arab League Secretary-General Reiterates Rejection of Iranian Attacks on Arab States

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
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Arab League Secretary-General Reiterates Rejection of Iranian Attacks on Arab States

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy reiterated his condemnation of Iran's continued attacks against several Arab states, affirming that such actions constitute a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter and threaten regional security, stability, and the freedom of international navigation.

In a statement, Fahmy rejected any practices that infringe on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Arab states, stressing that Arab national security is indivisible and that any attack on the sovereignty of any Arab state requires a unified Arab position.

The secretary-general reaffirmed the Arab League's full solidarity with the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, calling on the Security Council to take effective steps to halt these violations and ensure respect for international law and the security of international navigation.

Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Sunday targeting US military facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions following US strikes on Iranian targets.

Arab World

Sudan Court Sentences RSF Leader to Death in Absentia

Burnt shops lies down closed in downtown in Khartoum, Sudan June 25, 2026. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
Burnt shops lies down closed in downtown in Khartoum, Sudan June 25, 2026. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
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Sudan Court Sentences RSF Leader to Death in Absentia

Burnt shops lies down closed in downtown in Khartoum, Sudan June 25, 2026. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
Burnt shops lies down closed in downtown in Khartoum, Sudan June 25, 2026. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

A court in Sudan's army-controlled city of Port Sudan on Sunday sentenced paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and 15 others to death in absentia over charges of killing a regional governor and war crimes in Darfur, state media reported.

The ruling, issued by a judiciary functioning under the army, is the first against the leadership of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since war broke out between the group and the Sudanese army in April 2023.

The court convicted Dagalo and the other defendants of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and attacks on civilians and public facilities, state news agency SUNA reported.

Those sentenced include Dagalo's brother and deputy, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, as well as several RSF officers and tribal leaders from Arab communities in West Darfur, AFP said.

The case centers on the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abbakar in June 2023, shortly after RSF forces seized El-Geneina, the state capital.

Abbakar was killed hours after accusing the RSF and allied militias of carrying out attacks against civilians.

UN experts determined that between 10,000 and 15,000 people, mostly from the Massalit ethnic group, were killed in El-Geneina during the violence.

The RSF has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide and other war crimes.

The court said it would refer the case to the Supreme Court for review and seek the arrest and extradition of those convicted through Interpol and other international channels.

Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Daglo had jointly led the 2021 coup that derailed Sudan's transition to civilian rule, before falling out over plans to integrate the RSF into the regular army, a dispute that eventually led to war.

Now in its fourth year, the conflict between the army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 11 million and triggered what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.