Following the shocking statements of the Minister of Health, a call is made to the “loyalists” for an Iranian exception for Iraq in the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the shocking statements of the Minister of Health, a call is made to the “loyalists” for an Iranian exception for Iraq in the Strait of Hormuz.
2026-07-31
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraqi politician Dhafer al-Ani called on Friday for parties close to the regime in Tehran to allow Iraqi crude oil shipments to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This comes in conjunction with statements made by the Iraqi Minister of Health regarding the government’s financial deficit in providing medicines, basic supplies, and monthly salaries for workers in the health sector.
In a post on the X website, Al-Ani described the minister’s statements as “the resounding cry of the Minister of Health (…) which raises a legitimate question: Can the loyalists ask Iran to allow Iraq to export its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, so that Iraqis can secure their salaries and medicine?”
This stance coincides with the admission by Iraqi Health Minister Abdul Hussein Al-Moussawi on Thursday that the government is facing a liquidity crisis that has made securing salaries its priority, while confirming that the General Company for Marketing Drugs and Medical Supplies (Kimadia) has received only 15% of its budget, which has led to its bankruptcy, the disruption of new contracts, and the threat to drug supplies.
Following the statements of the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, Faleh Al-Sari, made another shocking statement in which he confirmed the existence of a real financial deficit that hinders the completion of the disbursement of salaries for employees, retirees and social welfare beneficiaries, noting that the total monthly obligations for salaries amount to about 7 trillion and 800 billion dinars.
The Economic Monitor “Eco Iraq” announced on Sunday, July 19, that Iraq extracted about 440.3 million barrels of oil during the first half of 2026, while the production loss amounted to about 302.8 million barrels compared to the normal rate, as a result of the repercussions of security and military tensions in the region.
The observatory stated in its report that “oil production during January and February was at its normal levels, averaging over 4.1 million barrels per day, before declining sharply during the following four months due to the war and the repercussions that affected export operations and oil production.”
He explained that “the average daily production was 4.097 million barrels in January, 4.140 million barrels in February, then it decreased to 1.906 million barrels in March, 1.633 million barrels in April, and reached its lowest level in May at 1.406 million barrels per day, before rising relatively in June to 1.525 million barrels per day.”
According to the observatory, the total production loss during the four months from March to June amounted to about 302.8 million barrels, compared to a normal production rate of 4.1 million barrels per day.
The observatory called for finding real solutions to protect oil production facilities and export routes, including developing alternative export outlets, such as the Sham Road project, to ensure the stability of oil production and reduce the impact of geopolitical crises on the Iraqi economy.
In this context, analysts in the energy and geopolitics sectors warned that Iraq would be among the countries most affected if the disruption to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz continued, given that oil flows from the Gulf remained at about 50% of pre-war levels, equivalent to a decrease of at least 10 million barrels per day from regional supplies.
shafaq.com
