KRG security disperses teachers blocking Iran-bound oil tankers

The protesters had blocked the Sulaimaniyah-Arbat Road, a vital route for oil transport, since Sunday, accusing Kurdish authorities of exporting fuel illegally to Iran. [Dana Taib Menmy/TNA]

Security forces in Sulaimaniyah, within Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, dispersed a protest on Monday night as teachers demanding unpaid salaries clashed with truck drivers accused of smuggling fuel to Iran, a nation under stringent US sanctions.

The protesters had blocked the Sulaimaniyah-Arbat Road, a vital route for oil transport, since Sunday, accusing Kurdish authorities of exporting fuel illegally to Iran and other countries. They alleged that revenues from the smuggled oil were being siphoned off by the ruling Kurdish parties instead of benefiting the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) treasury or the federal budget in Baghdad.

Public schools in the region have been closed for nearly two months due to a boycott by teachers over unpaid salaries. The KRG has yet to disburse December 2024 wages, blaming the federal government in Baghdad—a claim strongly denied by Iraqi officials.

Tensions escalated when KRG’s security forces intervened to clear the road.

“The security forces used all kinds of violence against us, including kicking. The incident escalated when some unknown people started throwing stones at us and the truck drivers. After that, the security forces joined the stone-throwers and started cracking down on teachers and KRG employees,” Othman Gulpi, a teacher participating in the protest, told The New Arab.

Gulpi also said that security forces targeted journalists covering the scene, confiscating equipment and using force. Ten protesters were reportedly arrested but later released.

‘Heavy-handed tactics’

Dilshad Baban, another teacher from Sulaimaniyah, said he managed to evade arrest but confirmed what he described as “heavy-handed tactics” used by security forces against protesters and journalists.

However, the General Directorate of Sulaimaniyah Security (Asayish) denied these allegations, stating that their forces were deployed “to ease tensions between the civil servants and truck drivers” and that they had only “distanced some people from the area for the safety of all.”

Colonel Salam Abdulkhaliq, spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Security Agency, stated to TNA, “No one was arrested. Asayish distanced some people from the area as a measure to ease tensions.”

The Metro Centre for Journalists’ Rights and Advocacy condemned the actions of the security forces, alleging widespread violations against journalists.

Diyar Mohammed, the Director of the Metro Centre, disclosed that 29 violations against 13 journalists and media organisations were recorded during the unrest in Arbat. According to the Metro Centre, the violations included the detention of 5 journalists, 11 journalists were prevented from reporting, including being blocked from accessing protest sites, 8 incidents of equipment being confiscated or damaged, and 5 cases of verbal harassment and physical assault were documented.

“We at the Metro Centre strongly condemn such actions by the security forces against journalists and media outlets. We believe these actions are in clear violation of the laws protecting press freedom in the Kurdistan Region,” said Mohammed.

Early this month, tensions escalated at the Degala Checkpoint near Erbil, the capital city of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as Kurdish security forces loyal to rival political factions blocked a group of teachers attempting to enter the city.

Oil exports resume amid financial crisis

The unrest comes as Iraq’s Oil Minister, Hayyan Abdul Ghani, announced on Monday that the Iraq-Turkey pipeline is ready to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkey’s Ceyhan port.

The resumption of northern oil exports is viewed as a critical step to address the region’s ongoing economic woes. The KRG, facing mounting financial pressure, froze pay rises for public sector employees since 2016, citing falling oil prices and the cost of fighting the Islamic State group. As inflation soars, the delay in salary payments has fuelled public anger and protests.

Despite hopes of resumed exports through Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO), the two teachers said that the two main Kurdish ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), will continue smuggling oil to Iran and other destinations.

Ali Hama Salih, a member of the Kurdistan parliament and leader of the National Stance opposition party, alleged that the ruling parties collect nearly $2 million daily from the smuggling trade without returning any profits to public coffers.

In a video posted on his Facebook page, Salih showed a convoy of tanker trucks near the Parwezkhan border crossing, allegedly headed to Iran.

The KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources declined to comment on the allegations.

Iraq’s parliament recently amended the budget to subsidise production costs for international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region, increasing compensation rates to $16 per barrel for transport and production. In exchange, the KRG is required to transfer 400,000 barrels of oil per day to SOMO in return for 12.6 percent of Iraq’s total federal budget.

The Kurdistan Region’s oil exports remain in limbo after Turkey halted the flow of crude through the KRG pipeline in March 2023. This move followed an International Chamber of Commerce ruling that ordered Turkey to compensate Baghdad $1.5 billion for unauthorised oil exports between 2014 and 2018, resulting in an estimated $19 billion loss in revenue for Iraq.

As the situation escalated in Sulaimaniyah, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. According to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, the two leaders discussed the US-Iraq strategic partnership, emphasising Iraq’s stability and sovereignty.

Secretary Rubio and Prime Minister Sudani also addressed the need to reduce Iran’s influence in Iraq. They agreed on the importance of swiftly reopening the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and honouring contractual terms for US companies operating in Iraq to attract further investment.

The discussions highlighted growing US concerns over Iran’s expanding influence in Iraq. Although Iran views Iraq as crucial for maintaining its sanctions-hit economy, Washington is urging Baghdad to reduce economic and military ties with Tehran. President Donald Trump‘s administration, under which Rubio serves, has intensified efforts to isolate Iran economically.