Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Sunday Afternoon 8-16-26
Anti-Graft Raid Nets $6.7M, Gold From Iraqi Electricity Official
2026-08-16 Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq seized more than $6.7 million in cash, along with gold bars and jewelry, from several homes belonging to Khalid Ghazi Atiyah, deputy minister of Electricity for Transmission and Distribution Affairs, who recently faced allegations of financial and administrative corruption.
The Federal Integrity Commission reported on Sunday that its investigators recovered 1.175 billion Iraqi dinars ($895,000) and $5.839 million. They also found seven gold bars and gold jewelry.
A security source told Shafaq News on Friday that Iraqi security forces had detained Atiyah over corruption allegations.
Last month, the Electricity Ministry dismissed the general manager of the Central Electricity Distribution Company, Alaa Samir, and his office director over corruption allegations. Eight department heads were also penalized over accusations of organizing fictitious and forged transactions.
Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Security/Anti-graft-raid-nets-6-7M-gold-from-Iraqi-electricity-official
Iraq Ranks Fourth Among Turkiye's Foreign Homebuyers
2026-08-16 06:29 Shafaq News- Ankara/ Baghdad Iraqis sharply increased their home purchases in Turkiye in July, buying 144 properties compared with 98 in June and moving up to fourth place among foreign buyers, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) reported on Sunday.
Iraqi buyers also acquired eight commercial properties in July, twice the four recorded in June.
Russian citizens led foreign home sales in July with 394 properties, followed by Iranians with 189 and Ukrainians with 145. Iraqis placed fourth, just one purchase behind Ukrainian buyers, marking a notable rise from June, when they were in sixth place.
In commercial property sales, Russians also topped the list with 22 purchases, followed by Iranians with 18 and Azerbaijanis with 13.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraq-ranks-fourth-among-Turkiye-s-foreign-homebuyers
President Barzani Opens Secret US-IRGC Diplomatic Channel
2026-08-Shafaq News- Washington Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani helped establish a secret channel between the US administration and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Axios reported on Sunday, as Washington sought to determine whether the powerful military force backed negotiations to end the February 28 war.
The channel emerged in mid-May, when US officials were uncertain whether Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had the authority to reach a deal with Washington or whether the IRGC could block any agreement.
Citing three sources with direct knowledge of the contacts, Axios disclosed that the White House turned to Barzani because of his longstanding ties with both Washington and Tehran and his contacts with senior Iranian officials.
Around May 10, then-US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard contacted Barzani with the approval of US President Donald Trump, asking him to help establish direct contact with IRGC commander General Ahmad Vahidi. On May 14, an Iranian official brought an encrypted phone to Barzani's office in Erbil, enabling the two men to hold a secure call.
During the call, Barzani asked whether the IRGC supported the negotiations. Vahidi responded positively, and the information reached Gabbard, who relayed it to the White House.
Read more: President Barzani's diplomatic odyssey in Tehran
The contacts subsequently expanded into a proposal for a secret meeting between senior US and Iranian officials in Erbil, with Barzani serving as host and intermediary. Iran did not reject the proposal outright but raised security concerns, including fears that Israeli intelligence had an extensive network in the Kurdistan Region and that members of an Iranian delegation could be targeted in Erbil or while traveling to and from Iran. The meeting ultimately did not take place.
Barzani has since offered the White House further assistance in restarting the negotiations, as disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional security issues continue to hinder implementation of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on June 18, Axios reported.
Read more: Iraq stands to gain most from US-Iran deal, analysts warn of fragile foundations
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Kurdistan/President-Barzani-brokered-secret-US-IRGC-diplomatic-channel
Electricity Minister Dismisses Senior Official Over Poor Performance
2026-08-16 Shafaq News- BaghdadIraq's Minister of Electricity, Ali Saadi Wahib, dismissed Nizar Qahtan Hassan as Director General of the ministry's Training and Energy Research Department, citing his failure to perform his official duties.
According to an official document, Hassan was reassigned to a position one grade below the rank he held before becoming director general.
Wahib took office as electricity minister in May 2026 under Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's government. Since then, he has dismissed several officials, including the general manager of the Central Electricity Distribution Company, Alaa Samir, and his office director, over corruption allegations.
Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases
SCOOP: Iraq In Talks With US-Iran Over Hormuz Oil Shipments
2026-08-16 Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq is holding direct talks with the United States and Iran to secure uninterrupted passage for tankers carrying Iraqi crude through the Strait of Hormuz, lawmaker Zainab al-Khazraji told Shafaq News on Sunday.
Al-Khazraji, a member of parliament's Oil, Gas, and Natural Resources Committee, said Baghdad was engaging both sides because different shipping routes through the strait “were controlled by US and Iranian forces.”
The talks are aimed at securing permanent, rather than temporary, passage for tankers carrying Iraqi crude and shielding exports from regional security disruptions.
Al-Khazraji noted that Iraq's oil exports have risen by 60% after falling below one million barrels per day at the start of the war. Shipments subsequently recovered to around 1.5 million bpd and have now exceeded two million bpd.
Read more: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed
She expected exports to continue recovering toward three million bpd, which would “increase state revenue and help fund public-sector salaries in the coming months.”
Iraq, which derives about 90% of state revenue from oil, produced around four million bpd before the war with Iran began on Feb. 28 and exported an average of 105 million barrels per month, mostly from southern terminals in Basra through the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway previously carried about 20% of global energy supplies.
Read more: Iraq's rentier economy: Risks and reforms
Iran's closure of the strait forced Iraq to halt production at most fields as storage capacity filled, leaving Baghdad reliant on limited alternative export routes, including tanker trucks through Syria and the pipeline through Turkiye to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
The strait briefly reopened after a memorandum of understanding with Washington in June, before Tehran again restricted shipping following the resumption of hostilities in early July.
Iraq exported about 49 million barrels of crude in July, more than 30 million of them through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Oil Ministry.
Read more: Energy war nears Iraq: Oil infrastructure faces rising threat
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/SCOOP-Iraq-in-talks-with-US-Iran-over-Hormuz-oil-shipments
Fire Destroys 10 Tents At Duhok's Shariya Camp
2026-08-16 Shafaq News- Duhok A fire tore through 10 tents at Shariya displacement camp in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Duhok province on Sunday, causing “extensive” property damage but no injuries, a local official told Shafaq News.
Shivan Issa from the province’s Migration and Displacement Directorate media office told Shafaq News that the civil defense teams extinguished the blaze and prevented it from spreading to neighboring tents. Security authorities opened an investigation into the cause.
Duhok province hosts one of Iraq’s largest displaced populations, with 15 camps sheltering more than 300,000 internally displaced people. Shariya Camp alone houses about 9,350 residents, according to UN data.
In January, another fire at the camp destroyed two tents and left several families without shelter.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Kurdistan/Fire-destroys-10-tents-at-Duhok-s-Shariya-camp