Iraq Pursues Safe Passage for Oil Tankers Through Strait of Hormuz

Iraqi Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair said on Monday that his country is in talks with Iran to secure safe passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The talks aim to protect Iraqi crude shipments, which have been disrupted by the regional crisis.

Khudair expressed optimism about reaching understandings with Iran in the coming days. He noted that Iraqi officials had received assurances from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Iraqi oil tankers would be exempt from restrictions in the strategic waterway.

However, government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi later acknowledged that the exemption had not materialized, with Tehran viewing the Strait of Hormuz as one of its key sources of leverage in the current regional crisis.