Iranian Soldiers Take Control of Iraqi Oil Well

Iranian troops have again entered Iraqi territory, though in a disputed border section, and taken control of an oil well in the al-Fakkah field, about 200 miles from Baghdad.  —JCL

AP via Google:

Iranian troops have crossed into Iraqi territory and seized an oil well that lies in a disputed area along the two countries’ southern border, Iraq’s deputy foreign Minster said Friday.

The deputy minister, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, said Iranian troops seized oil well No. 4 Thursday night in the al-Fakkah oil field, located about 200 miles (about 320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq’s largest.

[...] “We are coordinating with the Oil Ministry regarding this issue. This is not the first time that the Iranians have tried to prevent Iraqis from investing in oil fields in border areas. Tomorrow, we might summon the Iranian ambassador to discuss this issue,” Mahmoud told The Associated Press.

The al-Fakkah field is considered a shared field between Iran and Iraq, meaning both nations are able to pump oil from it, but the Iraqis consider oil well No. 4 theirs.

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Flickr / Mohammed Aliwi

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that although Iranians have crossed the border before, they had not previously ventured as far as the al-Fakkah field, about 200 miles from Baghdad. The oil well above is in Basra, along the Iraq-Iran border.