Public employees in Iraq’s Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
- The Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline shut down in March 2023 after a legal ruling favored Baghdad against the Kurdish Region's independent exports.
- This shutdown followed a 1973 treaty violation by Turkey, which allowed the Kurdistan Regional Government to export oil independently via a separate pipeline since 2014.
- Negotiations to resume oil flows have stalled over commercial terms, causing Iraq to lose vital revenue and forcing Baghdad to reduce production elsewhere due to OPEC quotas.
- The Iraqi Ministry of Oil condemned the KRG for failing to transfer oil revenues, causing billions in losses and accusing the regional government of smuggling, while hundreds of public employees face halted salaries.
- This ongoing dispute has intensified political tensions and public outcry in the Kurdish region, underscoring the complex challenges ahead of Iraq’s national parliamentary election on November 11, 2025.
15 Articles
15 Articles
The Lost Year In Iraq
In the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein, a group of Americans led by Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III set off to Baghdad to build a new nation and establish democracy in the Arab Middle East. One year later, with Bremer forced to secretly exit what some have called 'the most dangerous place on earth,' the group left behind lawlessness, insurgency, economic collapse, death, destruction--and much of their idealism. Three years later, as the U.…
Public workers in north Iraq caught in Baghdad-Erbil oil dispute
Tensions have escalated between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the country’s north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called …

Public employees in Iraq’s Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
Tensions have escalated between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country’s north in a long-running dispute over the the sharing of oil revenues.
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