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Fifth round of Iranian nuclear talks kick off in Vienna

Iran and six major states on Monday resume a new round of nuclear talks in Vienna, trying to work on the drafting of the final agreement. Based on the interim deal reached in Geneva last November, Iran and six major powers including Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are trying to find a final solution for the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear issue by July 20. After meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Monday in the capital city of Austria, Iran’s chief negotiator and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters that he hopes the talks can "get ready for moving forward." He also told Iranian media that Iran and the six major states will review nuclear-related issues once again in their plenary meeting on Tuesday. Iran had held bilateral meetings with France, Russia and Germany before the talks […]

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The Kurds take Kirkuk, now what?

The long-standing dispute over an oil-rich Iraqi city may have reached a critical hour as Kurdish Peshmerga forces now claim to have taken control of Kirkuk. As neighbouring countries and the international community scramble for an appropriate response to the so-called Sunni rebellion rapidly gaining ground across Iraq, Kurdish troops have stirred controversy by stepping in to fill what they say was a “security vacuum” in Kirkuk. Indeed, while frightened residents welcomed the move, it has raised pertinent questions over whether Iraq, in its present form, will survive the mayhem. The Kurds, a nation of over 30 million spread across several countries, have maintained a semi-autonomous region in the north of Iraq since a Western no-fly-zone (above the 36th parallel) was imposed at the end of the Gulf war in 1991. In the years since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the […]

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Sunni Rebels in Iraq Kill Shiite Volunteers and Seize New City

Sunni rebel extremists ambushed and killed more than two dozen Shiite volunteer militiamen late Sunday just outside the holy city of Samarra, the first such killings since Iraq’s government started mobilizing thousands of untrained Shiites to stop the insurgent advance threatening the country. That advance appeared to gain momentum elsewhere on Monday. Sunni insurgents took over the small city of Tal Afar, in northwestern Iraq, according to Iraqi security officials and residents, sending both Shiite and Sunni residents fleeing. In another sign of diminished confidence in the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the United Nations said Monday it had temporarily relocated 58 staff from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan. Farhan Haq, a spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters in New York that more United Nations staff members may be extricated in coming days. On Sunday, the State Department announced it had begun a partial evacuation […]

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U.S. and Iran Signaling New Joint Effort in Iraq Crisis

The United States and Iran on Monday signaled increased willingness to work together to arrest the expanding Sunni insurgency in Iraq, with Secretary of State John Kerry openly suggesting such a collaboration would be constructive and another American official saying the subject could come up at talks this week on the Iranian nuclear dispute. Cooperation between the United States and Iran to contain the Iraqi crisis would represent the first time the two countries — estranged adversaries for more than three decades — have jointly undertaken a common security purpose since they shared military intelligence to counter the Taliban in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks 13 years ago. Mr. Kerry, in an interview with Yahoo News, called the advance by insurgents under the banner of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria over the past week an “existential threat” to Iraq and suggested American airstrikes […]

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Unrest in Iraq not Affecting Oil Markets – OPEC Head

The unrest in Iraq isn’t affecting oil markets or the country’s oil output, the secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Monday. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress, Abdalla Salem el-Badri said: "Nothing is affected. production is still going well and exporting is going fine." He said he doesn’t expect the recent wave of unrest in the country to affect the balance of the supply and demand of the oil market. The U.S. and Iran have publicly committed in recent days to provide military support if requested to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and help his government repel an offensive the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has launched against Baghdad and other Iraqi cities over the past week. "I hope that Iraq situation will go back to normal very soon," said the head of OPEC. Write to Alexander […]

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Rouhani: Iran's oil production rising

Iranian oil production has increased as multilateral nuclear negotiations continue, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said. Iran can export around 1 million bpd under the terms of a November arrangement that brought some relief from economic sanctions in exchange for a commitment to curb nuclear research activity. Rouhani said Saturday oil production has increased while nuclear talks with the members of the P5-plus-1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany — continue. "As negotiations go on with the P5+1 group, Iran’s oil production capacity has increased," he said Saturday. In early June, the U.S. government said it would "pause efforts to further reduce Iran’s crude-oil sales for a six-month period." Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said last week the country aims to more than double its crude oil production from 2.5 million barrels per day to 5.7 million bpd within the next three years. The Organization of […]

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Rouhani: Iran’s oil production rising

Iranian oil production has increased as multilateral nuclear negotiations continue, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said. Iran can export around 1 million bpd under the terms of a November arrangement that brought some relief from economic sanctions in exchange for a commitment to curb nuclear research activity. Rouhani said Saturday oil production has increased while nuclear talks with the members of the P5-plus-1 — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany — continue. "As negotiations go on with the P5+1 group, Iran’s oil production capacity has increased," he said Saturday. In early June, the U.S. government said it would "pause efforts to further reduce Iran’s crude-oil sales for a six-month period." Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said last week the country aims to more than double its crude oil production from 2.5 million barrels per day to 5.7 million bpd within the next three years. The Organization of […]

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Libya oil output gets lift

Two Libyan oil fields resumed deliveries to a key refinery in the country following a court order on political stability, two state energy companies said. State-owned National Oil. Co. said production resumed at the southern El-Feel field. Authorities at Sirte Oil confirmed oil was flowing from the Zilten oil field in the east of the country, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Libyan oil production has slumped considerably from its pre-war peak of about 1.4 million barrels per day. Oil output has suffered amid internal political rivalries in a country working to rebound from years of dictatorship under Moammar Gadhafi . Resumption of production from the two fields follows a court order that shot down the election of Ahmed Miitig as the next prime minister. Acting Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani refused to recognize the Islamist leader’s appointment. El-Feel and Zilten combine for around 60,000 barrels of oil per day […]

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Jihadis Recruitment Drive in Riyadh Revives Biggest Saudi Threat

The al-Qaeda breakaway group that has captured Iraq ’s biggest northern city is on a recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia. The evidence showed up last month in Riyadh, where drivers woke up to find leaflets stuffed into the handles of their car doors and in their windshields. They were promoting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has grabbed the world’s attention by seizing parts of northern Iraq. The militant group is also using social media, such as Twitter and YouTube, to recruit young Saudi men. Already at war with the governments of Iraq and Syria , ISIL also poses a potential threat to the Al Saud family’s rule over the world’s biggest oil exporter. Saudi authorities gained the upper hand in their battle with al-Qaeda, which targeted the kingdom a decade ago, yet analysts said the latest generation of militants may be harder to crush. ISIL, […]

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U.S. has oil in spades, BP says

The increase in U.S. oil production last year was the largest annual rise the world has ever seen, BP Chief Economist Christof Ruhl said Monday. The British company published its 63rd annual energy review Monday. In its assessment of the oil sector, BP said Libya was one of the countries hardest hit in terms of production last year. Internal rivalries that grew out of civil war have spilled over into the Libyan oil sector. Production rates are less than 20 percent of their pre-war peak of around 1.4 million barrels of oil per day. Those disruptions, BP said, were offset by major production gains from shale deposits in the United States . "The U.S. increase in 2013, up by 1.1 million barrels a day, was one of the biggest annual oil production increases the world has ever seen," the chief economist said in a statement . BP’s report said […]

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