Iraq Seeks Special Shipping Deal for Oil Exports Through Strait of Hormuz
The Iraqi Parliament Speaker, Haibat Al-Halbousi, has requested 'special status' for Iraq's oil exports passing through the Strait of Hormuz during high-level talks with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Baghdad. The request reflects deep anxieties in Baghdad as regional tensions threaten to choke off the state's primary economic lifeline.
The majority of Iraq's oil exports originate from southern terminals in Basra, making it highly dependent on safe passage through the narrow Strait of Hormuz to reach global energy markets. Escalating tensions and shipping restrictions imposed along the route have repeatedly constrained Iraqi crude flows, forcing the country to seek permanent shipping guarantees from both Tehran and Washington.
The push for a formal agreement comes after a highly successful, secretive backchannel deal in which Iran quietly granted safe passage to two Iraqi supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of crude through the strait. The deal did not involve direct payments to Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for this transit.