Iraq’s oil ministry has denied US accusations against its deputy minister, who 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.
Rejecting smuggling claims
