Iraq Rejects U.S. Accusations of Enabling Iran Oil Smuggling

Iraq has rejected allegations made by U.S. Congressmen that it was helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions by channeling some of its oil revenues to Iranian entities.

Last week, five Congressmen called on President Joe Biden to ban the Iraqi oil minister from attending events in the United States because of his alleged involvement in Iranian sanction evasion. The group also demanded an investigation into Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani and other Iraqi officials on their alleged participation in sanction evasion.

“There are multiple public reports alleging that Abdul-Ghani and other officials in the Iraqi government are involved in industrial-scale sanctions evasion on behalf of the regime in Iran,” the Congressmen wrote.

“Given these reports, we respectfully request that your administration prevent Minister Abdul-Ghani from attending events in the United States until these allegations are investigated and the findings are presented to Congress.”

In response, the Iraqi oil ministry said “The letter's contents have no foundation. The only accurate statement in the letter is that these are allegations and do not rise to the level of verified information,” as quoted by Shafaq News.

“Iraq only engages with a select group of reputable global companies, including American firms, under contracts that follow international transparency and legal guidelines,” the ministry also said.

Reports of Iraqi oil smuggling emerged earlier this year, with Reuters reporting that at least 200,000 bpd of crude from Kurdistan were being transported on trucks to Iran and Turkey. The report cited sources as saying that the oil smuggling was likely happening with the knowledge of the regional and federal governments.

Once in Iran, the oil is loaded onto ships at the Iranian ports in the Gulf at Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas, or transferred by road to Afghanistan and Pakistan, those sources said, putting the monthly revenue from the scheme at some $200 million.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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