Sunday, 20 September 2026

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Council of Ministers has tasked its justice, finance and planning ministries with preparing legal and constitutional observations on federal borrowing, grants and subsidy legislation. Its 13 September letter invoked Article 106 of the constitution, which stipulates the Region receives a proportional share of loans or international assistance obtained by the federal government. The KRG argued that the Region contributes to repayment and is therefore entitled to an equivalent share when funds are distributed. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said Baghdad and Erbil committees had begun negotiations but technical discussions alone would not secure the Region’s financial share. The KRG has already fixed its 2027 federal-budget demand at 14.14 percent, while Baghdad and Erbil remain without an agreed percentage. The borrowing order turns that wider demand into a formal legal review before federal legislation is approved, with the budget bill reportedly expected to reach parliament on 15 October.

Gasoline shortages forced many filling stations across Basra to close on Saturday after they ran out of fuel, leaving long queues at stations that remained open. A source said delays in loading gasoline had disrupted distribution and deliveries across the province. Basra had experienced a similar shortage about a week earlier as supply problems affected several provinces. The Council of Ministers has begun reviewing recent decisions to remove fuel subsidies for some sectors after a parliamentary committee member linked those measures to new supply problems. The cabinet ended those sectoral subsidies from 1 September but retained subsidised gasoline, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas for citizens.

Al-Monitor reported that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government acknowledged that the drones used in the 11 September attack on Saudi Arabia’s East–West Pipeline, which Riyadh attributed to Iraqi factions, originated in Maysan. The Washington Institute separately attributed a drone barrage on the Yanbu pipeline to PMF factions and dated it 10 September, a day earlier than the 11 September pipeline attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq had denied responsibility, while investigators had located launch platforms inside Iraq. Six Iraqi faction channels also relayed separate Yemeni armed forces claims against Riyadh and Aramco in Yanbu, assigning those operations to the Yemeni forces. The new government position is an origin finding; the attribution to PMF factions is the Washington Institute’s.

Iraqi legislator Mohammed al-Moussawi rejected 30 September as a weapons deadline and defended resistance weapons on counterterrorism, sovereignty and stability grounds. National State Forces Alliance head Ammar al-Hakim and Badr Organization secretary-general Hadi al-Amiri instead called for resolving weapons outside state control through dialogue. Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi called 30 September the formal end of the coalition mission, while commander-in-chief spokesman Sabah al-Numan said that transition should remove grounds for armed activity outside state institutions. Security adviser Qasim al-Araji said the weapons committee has no fixed completion deadline. Reports on a planned New York meeting with President Donald Trump diverged between new commitments from al-Zaidi and a request for more time and delayed sanctions. Security and Defence Committee member Sherwan Doberndani said failure to bring faction weapons under state control by that date could expose Iraq to severe U.S. sanctions, although no such decision has been announced. September 30 remains fixed for the coalition mission, not completion of the weapons process.

PMF personnel gathered in Najaf to demand rights and housing. Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) and Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) used broader language about fair treatment and entitlements, while Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) and Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) specified housing plots. Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official) also reported families of dead and wounded PMF personnel protesting outside the governorate building. The desk counted Najaf as a focus for 8 of 33 watched channels across four networks since 19 September.

Al-Ghadeer reported that the Central Bank adopted new measures after the parallel dollar rate exceeded IQD 160,000 per $100 on Saturday. A Sunday market survey put the Baghdad exchange rate at IQD 159,250 per $100. Unit 10,000 carried the Central Bank’s explanation that speculation drove the rise and asked what remedies were available, while Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi (KSS — affiliated) included expectations and exploitation of regional conditions. Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) and Unit 10,000 also carried MP Abdullah al-Khaykani’s allegation that layoffs and Iraqi funds held in the United States caused the financial crisis; the channels provided no financial documentation. Separately, some Iraqi payment cards lost overseas payment and withdrawal access from 19 September, with an informed source citing fees, regulatory procedures and tighter monitoring among the possible factors.

Outlets linked to Badr Organization, KSS, Nujaba, Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina and AAH — five faction networks — relayed a threat attributed to Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters. The warning said U.S. sites would face sustained attacks if Washington acted against Iran and treated regional states helping the United States as participants. Al-Ghadeer shortened the message to U.S. bases and interests, while the other outlets retained the warning to regional states. The relays added no Iraqi militia operation or commitment. Separately, six channels across KH, KSS, Badr and Ashab al-Kahf networks reported a shooting near Nof Tzuf in the West Bank. Shabab al-Islam (Ashab al-Kahf — owned/non-official) praised the shooting, while the KH, KSS and Badr outlets reported the incident, casualties or pursuit.