Iraq denies US claims deputy oil minister helped Iran evade sanctions
Iraq's oil ministry has denied US accusations against its deputy minister, whom the United States hit with sanctions over alleged support to Iran, as Washington escalates pressure on Baghdad to break with Iranian-linked groups.
The US state department on Thursday announced sanctions on Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, saying he "abused his government position to divert Iraqi oil in support of the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies".
It accused him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Iran avoid sanctions.
His ministry said late on Thursday that "it denies the accusations" against Bahadli and stressed "the importance of transparency in addressing all ... accusations on the basis of evidence and facts", according to the INA state news agency.
The ministry said it was prepared to investigate the matter, but added that "crude oil export operations, marketing, loading onto tankers, and related procedures" were not part of Bahadli's job.
Employees of Basra Oil Company work at the Nahr Bin Umar Oil and Gas Field on the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Basra on 29 April 2026 (Hussein Faleh/AFP)