Iraq accuses Kurdistan of smuggling oil through Iran

Iraq's Kurdish region is smuggling the oil it produces through Iran, officials in Baghdad said on Monday. Kurdistan does not have any refineries, and the biggest part of oil is being smuggled, especially through the Iranian border, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hussein al-Shahristani said. Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi claimed the smuggled oil is being sold “at lower prices than global prices,” AFP reports. Kurdistan last week halted crude exports in a row with Baghdad. Local officials say the central government has withheld $1.5 billion owed to foreign oil companies working in the region.