Crude oil flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI) through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP from Kirkuk to Ceyhan resumed on Saturday (27 September) for the first time since 25 March 2023. This followed agreements between the various interested parties, comprised of the Iraq Kurdistan regional government (the KRG), the foreign oil and gas firms operating in the KRI, the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI), Turkey, and the U.S. However, the outlook for the continuation of these various deals and therefore for the ongoing flows of oil from the KRI into Turkey is bleak. He further called on “neighbouring countries and countries of the world” to stop buying crude oil directly from Kurdistan, and only to deal with the FGI. The U.S. and Israel also have a further strategic interest in utilising the Kurdistan Region as a base for ongoing monitoring operations against Iran.