Siddhant Kishore, Katherine Wells, Alexandra Braverman, Andie Parry, and Brian Carter

Information Cutoff: 2:00 pm ET

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The Iraqi parliament voted to approve an amendment to the Iraqi budget law to provide salaries for Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees and resume oil exports from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on February 2. The Iraqi government will pay $16 per barrel to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), an increase from the previous compensation of $6 per barrel. An international consulting firm will determine the actual cost of oil extraction in the Kurdistan Region, according to the amended budget law. An Iraqi parliament’s finance committee member said that the cost of oil extraction is not fixed and may reach $22 per barrel, depending on the consulting firm’s inspection. The KRG spokesperson confirmed that the Iraqi parliament also resolved the issue of KRG employees' outstanding salaries. Iraqi and Kurdish officials are discussing sending the salaries in the “coming few days.”

Several Iraqi security and political officials have sought to delay the withdrawal of US-led international coalition forces from Iraq due to the situation in Syria. The Associated Press reported on January 31 that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria informed Iraqi officials’ assessment to delay the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. Iraqi security and political officials warned that the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq would create a vacuum for ISIS to reconstitute. A US defense official said that unspecified Iraqi government officials have asked “informally at the highest of levels” to delay the withdrawal of US forces citing the same reason. The United States and Iraq agreed in September 2024 that hundreds of US-led international coalition forces would withdraw from Iraq by September 2025 and that the remaining troops would withdraw by the end of 2026.

Key Takeaways:

• Iraqi Parliament: The Iraqi parliament voted to approve an amendment to the Iraqi budget law to provide salaries for Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees and resume oil exports from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on February 2.

• US Presence in Iraq: Several Iraqi security and political officials have sought to delay the withdrawal of US-led international coalition forces from Iraq due to the situation in Syria.

• Turkey: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated Turkish threats against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in a press conference with his Qatari counterpart on February 2.

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