MILITARY
Iraqi army moves to secure planned oil route to Iran
By Jordi Bou
February 8, 2018 - Iraqi forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, have launched a major operation to clear militants from a planned route that could be used to transport crude from Kirkuk’s lucrative oil fields to Iran.
With Iraq unwilling to use Kurdistan Regional Government’s oil infrastructure, Baghdad has agreed to swap up to 60,000 barrels per day of crude from Kirkuk for refined Iranian oil.