Al-Zaidi: Iraq Cannot Remain Hostage to a Single Route for Exporting Its Oil

Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi stressed during an expanded meeting of the Ministry of Oil that Iraq is among the countries most severely affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that:

“Iraq cannot remain hostage to a single route for exporting its oil.”

He explained that every barrel that cannot be sold results in delays to salaries or public services, or losses to the state treasury.

These statements, however, overlook the reality that the Iranian side has already lifted restrictions on the freedom of movement and maritime transit through the strait for Iraqi tankers.

Following this blatant contradiction between Al-Zaidi’s statements—particularly his warning of a Strait of Hormuz crisis that has effectively been overcome—and what MP Hayam Al-Yasiri previously revealed regarding the conflict between the Ministries of Oil and Transport, as well as alleged deliberate corruption aimed at obstructing the national fleet and the Oil Ministry’s refusal to rely on Iraqi tankers, it becomes clear that Al-Zaidi is either:

Ignorant of the realities and inner workings of the state and its sensitive files, and therefore unfit to lead the country;

Or an integral part of networks of corruption that use manufactured crises as a cover to advance narrow interests at the expense of the state treasury and the livelihoods of Iraqi citizens.