Mounting political and parliamentary pressure compels the Al-Zaidi government to resolve the issue of illegal border crossings in the region.
Mounting political and parliamentary pressure compels the Al-Zaidi government to resolve the issue of illegal border crossings in the region.
6-4-2026
Information / Report..
Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi’s cabinet is facing mounting political and parliamentary pressure to resolve the issue of illegal border crossings in the Kurdistan Region, amid increasing accusations against the Erbil government of reneging on security and technical agreements concluded with Baghdad. Observers believe that the continued flow of goods and merchandise and the smuggling of crude oil through crossings not under the control of the Federal Border Ports Authority represents a serious drain on public funds and directly threatens the protection of national products and the country’s financial policy.
Political parties confirm that appeasing the region in the customs revenue file and delaying the imposition of full sovereignty over all Iraqi borders is no longer acceptable in light of the government program presented by Al-Zidi to reform the financial sector and audit contracts and ports. They demand that strict decisions and measures be taken regarding the oil smuggling operations that take place daily via tanker trucks, and not be satisfied with verbal understandings with the regional government, but rather impose the automation system and the ASYCUDA customs system by legal and constitutional force to ensure that all revenues are transferred to the federal treasury.
In this context, Abdul Hadi Al-Saadawi, a leader in the Reconstruction and Development Coalition and a former member of parliament, called on the federal government to take decisive and firm decisions to stop the ongoing oil smuggling by the Kurdistan Region through border crossings under the control of the regional government. In a statement to Al-Maalouma News Agency, he emphasized that oil smuggling operations in the region are still ongoing at high rates through approximately 20 unofficial crossings that are entirely managed by the regional authorities and amidst the complete absence of the federal government. These operations are carried out openly and by means of tankers. He called on the Prime Minister to end this waste and tighten control over these crossings by closing them immediately or imposing the rule of law through joint security committees.
For his part, MP Yasser Iskandar Watout, a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, condemned the policies pursued by the Kurdistan Regional Government, asserting that it is practicing a policy of secession and operating outside the framework of the state as defined by the Iraqi Constitution. He questioned why previous governments had been so lenient in their dealings with the region for over two decades. In a statement to Al-Maalomah News Agency, he explained that security cooperation between the federal government and the regional government is virtually nonexistent, especially since Erbil has become a safe haven for wanted individuals, which constitutes a major factor in the country’s security instability. He emphasized that oil smuggling operations by the region continue unabated, with no regard for the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court. He called on the current government to abandon the policy of leniency and appeasement towards the region, as was the case in previous periods.
almaalomah.me
