Sunday, 6 September 2026

Iraq exported about 2 million barrels a day in August through a shuttle system that moved crude from Basra onto larger tankers or storage near Sohar in Oman, keeping the cargo outside the Strait of Hormuz after transfer. State Organization for Marketing of Oil director general Ali Nizar said three routes remained exposed to security threats, that Iraq had secured very large crude carriers and that insurance arrangements helped persuade shipping companies to take part. The volume remained around 60% of the 3.3 million to 3.5 million barrels a day shipped before the disruption, and August-loading Basrah crude carried discounts of $25 to $29.80 a barrel. Iraqi crude deliveries to the United States also averaged 38,000 barrels a day in the previous week after falling to zero the week before. At home, the Oil Ministry denied plans for immediate gasoline exports from a new fluid catalytic cracking unit and said domestic self-sufficiency came first. It said delayed tanker arrivals had contributed to shortages, with gasoline consumption averaging 33 million liters a day and rising to around 38 million liters when motorists buy more. Thai rice exporters are routing shipments to Iraq overland through Jordan and Turkiye; their association said lower recorded purchases reflected the route change rather than weaker demand. The latest detail shows that Iraq’s August export rebound still rests on discounted cargoes and rerouting, while imports are being adapted around the same disruption.

The State Administration Coalition warned that Iraq’s difficult finances could not tolerate fallout from U.S. sanctions on other countries. At its September 5 meeting, it agreed to begin talks next week with blocs entitled to the nine of 23 ministries still without permanent ministers, including Defense, Interior, Planning and Higher Education. It also reviewed the draft oil and gas law before referral to parliament, farmer and contractor payments and plans to distribute one million residential plots. On Sunday, the Supreme Judicial Council ordered courts and prosecutors to monitor sectarian incitement and take legal action. The order followed the coalition’s call for punishment at the same meeting and adds judicial enforcement to the interagency committee created on September 3. Separately, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and State of Law Coalition head Nouri al-Maliki urged faster completion of the cabinet. A Coordination Framework source said the Framework had shelved deputy prime minister posts, while al-Zaidi opposed reviving vice-presidential posts. Together, the decisions put the immediate focus on filling existing ministries rather than adding senior posts.

Pressure on PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad rose again when two guests on Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) demanded that he appear before parliament over the Saudi strike on PMF headquarters discussed since August 29. Political analyst Muhammad al-Zaydawi alleged that the prime minister had warned PMF leaders and blamed Fayyad for failing to evacuate the site, while security expert Wathiq al-Jabri instead said notification to Fayyad had been delayed and could have been a deliberate security failure. Fayyad has not answered. Reports also diverged over Coordination Framework talks with armed factions: Alsumaria called them a dead end, while Al-Quds Al-Arabi referred to a committee negotiating over weapons restrictions, with neither account identifying a faction or disputed term. Alsumaria separately reported that unidentified factions had made undisclosed requests to the weapons-control mediation committee. It also reported that Washington’s messages to Baghdad concerned reservations over the draft PMF law, without disclosing the disputed provisions. An unidentified Iraqi parliamentarian said U.S. forces would lose legitimacy after September 30 and factions would have the right to respond. The state-faction talks remain reported rather than confirmed, while pressure on Fayyad has moved from a summons proposal to a direct appearance demand and an earlier removal warning.

The governors of Basra and Karbala said they had completed procedures to prepare 195,000 residential plots under the Watan initiative. Basra accounted for 135,000 plots and Karbala for 60,000. The Prime Minister’s Office said more than 216,000 plots had been prepared across 15 provinces, with registration opening in October. Basra Governor Asaad al-Eidani said any Iraqi who did not own land or registered property would be eligible to apply. Basra’s completed plans will go to the coordinating body and the Prime Minister’s Office. The State Administration Coalition separately discussed distributing one million residential plots. The figures separate land already prepared from the coalition’s much larger distribution plan.

Two guests on Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) demanded on September 5 that PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad appear before parliament over the Saudi strike on PMF headquarters discussed since August 29. Political analyst Muhammad al-Zaydawi alleged that the prime minister warned PMF leaders and faulted Fayyad for not evacuating the site. Security expert Wathiq al-Jabri instead said notification was delayed and could have been a deliberate security failure. One account alleges advance notice to the leadership; the other alleges delay in notifying Fayyad. Pressure carried by Al-Ahad had already moved from a proposed summons to a Sadiqoun MP’s removal warning. Fayyad has not answered the accusations.

Reports on September 6 diverged over whether Coordination Framework talks with armed factions had stalled. Alsumaria called the negotiations a dead end, while Al-Quds Al-Arabi referred to a Framework committee negotiating over restricting weapons. Neither account identified a faction or disputed term. Iranian outlets Mehr News and Al-Alam attributed identical wording to an unidentified Iraqi parliamentarian that U.S. forces would lose legitimacy after September 30 and factions would have the right to respond. That formulation remained the parliamentarian’s, unlike Akram al-Kaabi’s (Nujaba — secretary-general) earlier threat against U.S. soldiers remaining after that date. Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) carried a Parliamentary Security Committee statement that martyrs’ blood was sufficient to end the U.S. presence, without a timetable or operation. Altra Iraq separately attributed to Nujaba a defence of its weapons as protecting Iraq’s political system, but named no speaker.

Al-Ghadeer TV, Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) and Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) reported that Mustafa Sabah’s body had been found in Anbar after he was missing for 12 years. All three described him as a martyr. Unit 10,000 then carried his funeral in Aziziyah, Wasit. The captions gave no unit, date of death or circumstances. Sabereen added that "the masterminds of terrorism continue mobilizing media mercenaries to undermine the Popular Mobilization Forces and the resistance". Separately, Unit 10,000 and Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) reported that the body of Iraqi Army Brigadier General Hilal Matar Saleh al-Ezzi had also been recovered after 12 years. Both said he was killed on Anbar Island, though Unit placed his death during fighting against ISIS remnants and Al-Nujaba referred more generally to liberation battles.

Al-Ghadeer TV, Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) and Al-Nujaba TV reported that dozens of oil-institute graduates demonstrated outside the Oil Ministry in Baghdad demanding appointments. Their images showed employment banners, although the location was not settled by the images. The reports extended the appointment-focused protest coverage from Maysan a day earlier. Separately, Al-Ghadeer and Al-Ittijah reported that Al-Tayef Islamic Bank depositors demanded their money back. Al-Ghadeer cited Central Bank oversight for alleged violations, while Al-Ittijah said customers’ cards had stopped working and carried demands for government intervention.

Sabereen News and Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi (KSS — affiliated) each reported on September 5 that missiles had been launched toward the Strait of Hormuz. The one-line posts appeared within two minutes and gave no further operational details. Al-Ahad TV separately carried an Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters statement saying strikes on U.S. ships would become harsher if Washington continued what it called hostile actions and a blockade.