Iraqi Parliament Forms Investigation Committee into Oil Smuggling to Iran and Afghanistan
The Speaker of the Parliament forms an investigation committee into oil smuggling from Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region via Jarf al-Nasr to Iran and Afghanistan.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
On Wednesday, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Heibat al-Halbousi held an expanded meeting with the heads of parliamentary committees to discuss a technical intelligence report on oil smuggling in the Jarf al-Nasr area, as well as routes for smuggling Iraqi oil from the Kirkuk fields and the Kurdistan Region through Iran to Afghanistan, in addition to the targeting of the Khor Mor field.
An Iraqi technical intelligence report, accompanied by satellite images and maps of tanker routes, revealed networks suspected of involvement in smuggling crude oil and petroleum products from northern Iraq’s fields toward Iran and onward to Afghanistan.
According to the 14-page document issued by the Geospatial Intelligence Division (GSI) of the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency, smuggling operations have evolved beyond merely transporting and selling oil to include activities such as altering the origin of petroleum products and re-marketing them outside the official export system.
The report, classified as “Top Secret,” noted that thefts began in 2021 and continue to date, primarily through breaches of pipelines belonging to the Federal Ministry of Oil that pass through the Jarf al-Nasr district (formerly Jurf al-Sakhr).
The report, prepared by the Ministry’s Agency for Intelligence and Investigations in October last year and submitted to the Deputy Minister with a proposal to present it to Prime Minister Ali al-Allawi, stated that the entity controlling the area established rudimentary refineries and underground oil storage pits.
Investigators relied on what the report terms “geospatial monitoring,” which involves tracking satellite imagery of the area over five years and cross-referencing it with classified information and databases provided to the ministry.
Previously, three major armed factions—Saraya al-Salam led by Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, and Kata’ib Imam Ali led by Shibl al-Zaidi—agreed to hand over their weapons to the state and announced their integration into civilian work, while consultations continued with Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Saraya Awliya’ al-Dam, and Ahl al-Kahf.
However, recent months have seen tensions between these factions and the government, stemming from corrupt arms deals as well as oil smuggling operations.
