MP Mahmoud al-Shammari warned that Iraq could be heading toward a serious economic crisis as oil exports have come to a complete stop.
He said the halt is linked to the ongoing conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, along with the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to al-Shammari, this situation puts Iraq in a very dangerous position, since the country depends heavily on oil revenues for its daily needs.
He also criticized past governments, saying they failed to prepare for a crisis like this. Instead of creating backup export routes, Iraq has relied almost entirely on oil shipments from Basra through the Gulf.
Al-Shammari pointed out that there is an important pipeline connecting Iraq to Saudi Arabia and then to the Red Sea, but it has been unused for years.
He argued that restarting and upgrading this pipeline could have provided a critical alternative during times like these.
For now, Iraq’s heavy dependence on a single export route, combined with rising regional tensions, has left the economy under serious pressure.
