Who really controls Kurdistan’s gas? The Dana Gas deal, the KRG’s silence and the hidden cost of selling energy to Iraq

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By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj | Kurdish Policy Analysis      A $2.239 billion arbitration settlement, a contract running until 2049, expanded rights for Pearl Petroleum and a new battle over gas sales to Baghdad are raising uncomfortable questions about who ultimately controls Kurdistan’s most strategic natural resource. The latest dispute over Khor Mor gas is exposing a much deeper problem in the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector: the public still does not appear to have a clear picture of who controls the region’s gas, who is authorized to sell it, and how much of its future value has already been committed to private companies. At the center of the controversy is Pearl Petroleum, the consortium led by Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, and a settlement agreement reached with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on August 30, 2017. Kurdistan Parliament member Kawa Sheikh Ali has now sharply criticized that agreement, asking why a government would effectively commit its natural ...

The Middle East After Iran: The New Order No One Is Ready For

 A new regional security order will take shape while Tehran is preoccupied with internal conditions.

Kurdish Policy Analysis

The war in Iran is likely to wind down soon – at least in its current phase – making this a moment to step back from battlefield minutiae and assess the emerging balance of power in the Middle East. How the Iranian regime will evolve remains uncertain, but the country as a whole is poised.

Iran is weakening, and a new regional security order is beginning to take shape. This emerging framework will be defined by both opportunities and vulnerabilities, reflecting the uneven distribution of power and the competing ambitions of regional actors. The United States’ strategic challenge is to cultivate a system that leverages allies and partners to maintain stability while minimizing direct involvement. Success will hinge on balancing influence and distance, allowing Washington to advance its broader retrenchment strategy without being drawn back into prolonged regional entanglements.

As fighting in Iran appears to be entering a quieter phase, attention is turning from the battlefield to the broader strategic consequences, with analysts warning that a new regional security order is already beginning to take shape.

The conflict, while not fully resolved, has left Iran internally preoccupied, creating an opening for rival powers and long-standing U.S. partners to recalibrate their positions across the Middle East.

Experts say the weakening of Tehran’s influence could mark a turning point, but caution that the outcome remains uncertain as the trajectory of the Iranian regime itself is still unclear.

“Iran is weakening, and a new regional security order is emerging,” analysts note, describing a landscape shaped by both opportunity and instability.

The evolving framework is expected to reflect an uneven distribution of power, with regional actors competing to fill gaps left by Iran’s reduced capacity. This could lead to new alignments but also fresh vulnerabilities, particularly in contested zones where influence has long been fragmented.

For the United States, the challenge will be to shape this transition without becoming deeply entangled. Washington is expected to rely more heavily on regional allies and partners to uphold stability, while maintaining a degree of strategic distance.

Such an approach aligns with broader U.S. efforts to reduce direct military commitments in the region, though analysts warn that striking the right balance will be difficult.

“Success will depend on leveraging partnerships without being pulled back into prolonged conflicts,” one assessment said.

As the situation evolves, the emerging order is likely to redefine power dynamics across the region, with the post-conflict phase in Iran proving as consequential as the war itself.

#Iran #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #USForeignPolicy #PowerShift #RegionalSecurity #BreakingNews #Kurdistan #GlobalPolitics #Analysis


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