30
Dec
2009
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Iran invades Iraq?!

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Iranian troops have occupied an oil well in Iraq. Zhaf Nazhmi, a general of the Iraqi border forces, said on Friday before the press in Baghdad: “Iranian troops keep the source point 4 of the oil field east Missan since yesterday (Thursday) morning reception.” In media was that the Iranians would have hoisted their flag over the field.

Eleven Iranian soldiers Friday raised their country’s flag over the oil well in a border area disputed by Iran and Iraq. They have since withdrawn slightly, giving up control of the well; Iraq has demanded a full withdrawal.

Iraq dismissed the reports. “This message is not true,” said Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Ali al-Chafadschi on Friday. The disputed oil field on the border had not been stormed. “It is empty, it is abandoned.”

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The Operator Group Maysan Oil Company did not take the information has been submitted. Neither the defense nor the Iraqi Oil Ministry had initially reached comments.

The message reinforced in the international financial markets, the dollar, which made up for some of its losses against the euro again. Also, the oil price put easily in the sequence.

Iraq – then under President Saddam Hussein – and Iran led from 1980 to 1988 a devastating war that took the hundreds of thousands on both sides killed. Admittedly, the relationship between the two countries since the fall of Saddam has improved somewhat. However, standing in Iraq, more than 100,000 soldiers in the U.S., the sworn enemy of Iran. Move seen as largely symbolic but a warning to foreign oil players dealing with Iraq.

Although the seizure was largely symbolic, what many Iraqis saw as a weak response from Mr. Maliki could spell trouble for the prime minister in a parliamentary election scheduled for March 7. A Shi’ite Muslim, he has historic ties to Shi’ite majority Iran.
“This is a clear message to the foreign oil companies: You cannot come and exploit Iraqi oil while at the same time your governments are putting pressure on us,” analyst Ghassan al-Attiyyah of the Iraq Foundation for Democracy and Development said.
The Iranian occupation of the well, which Iraq considers part of its Fakka oilfield in southeast Maysan province, met little apparent resistance from Iraqi forces.

Iran said its troops acted to dismantle a barrier erected recently by Iraqi soldiers. The well, inoperative for decades, is considered small by local standards.

The bigger impact may have been in Baghdad.

Many of Iraq’s top politicians once sought refuge from Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime in Iran and since Saddam’s ouster, Tehran has had warmer ties with Baghdad, to the point where many Iraqis accuse it of undue influence.

Many Iraqis note disapprovingly that the Maliki government had a delayed response to the incident and its outcry was muted.

On the other hand, Mr. Maliki has appeared willing to dissociate himself from politicians Iraqis identify with Iran. He has also blasted Iranian ally Syria, blaming it for harbouring militants Iraq holds responsible for major bomb attacks.

“His differences with Syria are in fact a message to Iran,” said Hazim al-Nuaimi, a political science professor at Baghdad’s Mustansiriya University.

As Iraqis increasingly reject outside interference, politicians seen as close to Iran may fare badly in March, leaving Iran a small window to define borders on its own terms.

“Iran knows it has many allies in the current government, and there is no guarantee they will have the same influence in the next one,” Iraqi oil analyst Mahmoud al-Jubouri said.

Refrences:
1- The Globe and Mail
2- Norway post news
3- Iraqi al-zzaman newspaper