Tuesday, 15 September 2026

Iraq and France agreed to continue military cooperation after the international coalition’s mission in Iraq ends on 30 September. The post-30 September cooperation will cover border protection and Iraqi capabilities under a bilateral framework whose terms remain to be agreed. Iraq’s Defence Ministry also signed a letter of intent on air-defence systems and a declaration of intent on military equipment, alongside a strategic roadmap for future purchases from French companies. Energy talks covered the Artawi field at a planned 210,000 barrels per day, gas capture at 600 million standard cubic feet per day, seawater injection and a 1,000-megawatt solar project. TotalEnergies and Iraq separately agreed to begin talks on further energy projects. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi put current crude-production capacity at 4.8 million barrels per day and set a target of 10 million within five years. He began an official visit to Berlin.

Commander-in-chief spokesman Sabah al-Numan said authorities had located 15 drone-launch platforms used in the 11 September attack on Saudi East–West Pipeline facilities, which Riyadh said came from Iraq. An intelligence committee is using technical, forensic and fingerprint evidence to identify who carried it out. Riyadh reportedly paused retaliation at Baghdad’s request, while Iraq pledged legal action and said its territory and airspace would not be used against neighbouring states. Faction responses split: Ali al-Fatlawi (Ansar Allah al-Awfiya — leader) said retaliation remained deferred, while Baa Platform (Badr Organization — official) said an Aramco strike was ready to be repeated. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s financial adviser Mazhar Mohammed Saleh separately denied reports that Washington would stop monthly dollar transfers unless factions surrendered their weapons by 30 September, saying there was no formal U.S. demand. An unnamed U.S. administration official said Washington backed faction disarmament and transfer of the weapons to the federal government. Reports also said the Sinjar Resistance Units agreed to hand over weapons and enter federal forces, but the announced process has no start or completion date. September 30 remains the coalition-departure date; the financial cutoff has been denied officially and the wider weapons dialogue has no established deadline.

Iraq’s finance minister submitted a Kurdistan customs proposal outlining a 50 percent revenue split. The proposal adds a customs formula to federal-Kurdistan Regional Government talks over the 2027 budget and the Region’s financial entitlements. Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed had demanded a 14.1 percent budget share. Three days later, KDP parliamentary bloc leader Shakhawan Abdullah said Baghdad and Erbil had not agreed on a 14 percent share, although he said the salary dispute was moving toward resolution and that the KRG had submitted financial and payroll data. Separate reporting says the 2027 budget bill will reach parliament on 15 October. The customs proposal advances one revenue question, while the Kurdistan Region’s overall budget share remains unsettled.

Basra Governor Asaad al-Eidani formed a technical, legal and administrative committee to investigate Sunday evening’s ammonia leak at the Khor al-Zubair fertilizer plant. The Health Ministry said the leak killed two people and injured 114, with 21 people still in hospital on Monday. Industry Ministry undersecretary Nasser Kazem Jabr said it was too early to determine the cause. Rafiq al-Salihi (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said lawmakers would form a parliamentary committee, question the industry minister and seek the strongest penalties if negligence were established. Elsewhere in Basra, about 350 former workers at the South Refineries Company’s Fluid Catalytic Cracking project blocked roads and company entrances while seeking permanent Oil Ministry contracts. Their representative said the workers had spent years on the project before being laid off when it began operating, and that the ministry had approved their employment if the company requested their services. The leak now has two stated oversight tracks, while the refinery workers have escalated an unanswered employment demand.

The Education Ministry postponed the start of the 2026–2027 school year from 20 September to 11 October, citing high temperatures, unfinished second-round examinations and the need for further preparations. The delay will allow examinations for non-graduating grades to finish before classes begin. The school year is expected to bring more than 12 million students into a system whose building shortage is measured in the thousands. The Eco Iraq Observatory put the country’s stock at more than 40,000 schools and said more than 10,000 new schools would be needed to eliminate overcrowded classrooms. The postponement changes the calendar but not the shortage facing schools when pupils return.

Baghdad’s Security Media Cell said an intelligence committee is still trying to identify who carried out the 11 September drone attack on Saudi East–West Pipeline facilities, which Riyadh said came from Iraq. Commander-in-chief spokesman Sabah al-Numan said authorities had located 15 drone-launch platforms, while Security Media Cell chief Saad Maan said investigators were examining technical, forensic and fingerprint evidence. Ali al-Fatlawi (Ansar Allah al-Awfiya — leader) told Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) there was no evidence factions conducted the attack, suggested Ukraine or Israel might have used internal tools and said factional retaliation remained deferred. MP Ali Anhir told Watan TV (Badr Organization — affiliated) that Israel struck Saudi Arabia from Maysan. Baa Platform (Badr Organization — official) said an Aramco strike was ready to be repeated and warned people near refineries to stay miles away. Riyadh reportedly paused retaliation at Baghdad’s request, while Baghdad pledged legal action and said Iraqi territory and airspace would not be used against neighbouring states.

Separately, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s financial adviser Mazhar Mohammed Saleh denied reports that Washington would halt monthly dollar transfers unless armed factions surrendered their weapons by 30 September. Saleh said there was no formal U.S. demand and called the reports rumours without a factual basis. The original report cited two Iraqi government sources, who said the warning was delivered to al-Zaidi in Washington. An unnamed U.S. administration official separately said Washington fully supported faction disarmament and the transfer of weapons to the federal government. Al-Sharq carried a headline saying faction arsenals would remain until 2028. Alaa al-Khatib, secretary-general of the Sun Party, told iNEWS (KSS — affiliated) that U.S. forces would remain and factions would not surrender. Reports also said the Sinjar Resistance Units had agreed to hand over weapons and enter federal forces, but the announced process has no start or completion date. September 30 remains the scheduled coalition-departure date, while the financial cutoff has now been denied officially and the weapons dialogue still has no established deadline.

In Basra, Governor Asaad al-Eidani formed a technical, legal and administrative committee to investigate Sunday evening’s ammonia leak at the Khor al-Zubair fertilizer plant, which the Health Ministry said killed two people and injured 114. Industry Ministry undersecretary Nasser Kazem Jabr said it was too early to determine the cause. The Health Ministry said 21 people remained in hospital on Monday. Rafiq al-Salihi (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said lawmakers would form a parliamentary committee, question the industry minister and seek the strongest penalties if negligence were established. Falih al-Khazali (KSS — Muntasirun bloc head) had held company management responsible. Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) carried workers’ claims that investment threatened 5,000 jobs and their demands to dismiss senior managers. The leak now has two stated oversight tracks, but responsibility remains undetermined.

Separately in Saudi Arabia, Al-Kornet al-Kata’ibi (KSS — affiliated) reported air-raid sirens in Khamis Mushait and Abha before reporting a rocket salvo toward Asir. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) said rockets were launched from Yemen toward Khamis Mushait. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, injuring 13 civilians. The Houthis said they fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Khamis Mushait airbase. Since 8 September, 11 of 33 across five networks have surged on Khamis Mushait. Both channel accounts named Khamis Mushait, while the Houthi and coalition statements supplied the wider account of missiles, drones and three cities.