Attachments
Key Takeaways:
- UNAMI Presents New Update On Iraq; Sudani Attends Arab League Summit; KDP-PUK Disputes Over Regional Elections Intensify – On May 18, UNAMI’s Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert delivered a new briefing to the Security Council that reaffirmed that Sudani’s government has “shown its resolve to tackle…pressing issues” facing Iraq, and commended its “express stance” against corruption” But the UN envoy cautioned that “the harsh reality is that there is no time to lose,” stressed the need to place the national interest above all else, and urged lawmakers to quickly approve a budget “needed to turn certain Government goals into realities.” Meanwhile, Plasschaert criticized the PUK and KDP for failing to make compromises and allowing their disagreement to drive the Kurdistan region “close to the brink.” Regarding climate and water, Plasschaert cautioned that, if current trends continue, Iraq will only be able to meet 15% of its water demands by 2035. On May 19, PM Sudani attended the 32nd Arab League summit meeting in Jeddah. In his address, Sudani welcomed the return of Syria to the League meetings, urged joint Arab action on drug trafficking, climate change, and water shortage, and called for developing the League into an integrated economic bloc. On May 22, the Kurdistan parliament held a chaotic session during which members of rival parties hurled furniture and water bottles at each other as disputes over the election system boiled over. PUK members accused the KDP of violating the bylaws by introducing a motion to empower the region’s existing election commission, which the PUK insists on replacing, to manage the next election. Speaker Rewaz Faeq, a PUK member, attempted to adjourn the meeting to block the motion, but the vote proceeded, and 58 lawmakers out of 111 voted in favor of extending the commission’s mandate. In response, Faeq declared the outcome to be null and void, and the PUK insisted that it “will not be bound by an illegal decision.” In other developments, on May 21, sources close to Muqtada al-Sadr said that followers of the influential cleric will not be competing in the provincial elections scheduled for November. more…
- Lawmaker Accuses The PMF Of Intimidation; Property Dispute Sparks Fighting Between PMF Factions In Kirkuk; Iraq Looks To Purchase Rafale Jets – On May 18, independent lawmaker Sajjad Salim said that an armed force from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) surrounded his office in Wasit province and shut it down. Salim claimed the incident was retaliation for his call to investigate the alleged involvement of a certain PMF faction in an attempted assassination in the city of al-Kut. On May 21, three people were injured during armed clashes between two PMF factions (East Dijlah and the 16th brigade) over a disputed property near the Kirkuk Airport. On May 23, PM Sudani and the commander of France’s air forces attended a joint aerial exercise at the Balad air base involving French Rafale jets. A military spokesman for Sudani told reporters that Baghdad wants to purchase the advanced French jets as part of its efforts to build up the he Iraqi air force. In other developments, on May 23, a new Turkish airstrike targeted a building in the Khanasur subdistrict near Sinjar, killing three militiamen from the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS). more…
- Saudi Arabia And Iraq Boost Bilateral Trade And Energy Investments – On May 25, Iraq’s Oil Minister announced an agreement with Saudi Aramco for the development of the Akkaz gas field in Anbar. Iraq and Aramco will aim to produce 400 million cubic feet per day of gas from the field, which currently produces 60 million cubic feet per day relying on domestic efforts. In related news, the final statement of the Iraqi-Saudi coordination council meeting in Jeddah said that bilateral trade between Iraq and Saudi Arabia reached $1.5 billion in 2022, representing a 50% increase from the previous year. The statement added that the two countries agreed to expedite the opening of a new border crossing at Jamima. In other developments, on May 21, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said that Iran reduced the volume of natural gas exports to Iraq by 20 million cubic meters per day, causing the power grid to lose 1,000 megawatts from southern power plants. On May 23, Iraq’s Ministry of Environment and the local government and university of Basra, with support from the WFP, launched a nursery for mangrove trees capable of producing up to one million seedlings a year. The project aims to create a mangrove ecosystem that “enhances the region’s biodiversity, sequesters carbon, and mitigates the risks of climatic shocks.” more…
For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.