Iran denied allegations that Iranian forces were fighting in Iraq to regain control over the Beiji oil refinery. “We have sent no military forces to Iraq,” Iran’s deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on May 25 from Moscow.
US defence officials earlier said that Iran has entered the fight to retake the Iraqi oil refinery fromIslamic State militants, contributing small numbers of troops – some operating artillery and other heavy weapons – in support of advancing Iraqi ground forces.
US officials have said they do not oppose contributions from Iran-supported Iraqi Shia militias as long as they operate under the command and control of the Iraqi government.
Still, analysts point out that Tehran’s role inIraqis a major complicating factor for the administration of US President Barack Obama as it searches for the most effective approach to countering ISIS.
US military strikes have supported Iraqi troop activity against the Islamic State in many of the country’s western Sunni-dominated provinces. The militant group claimed a brief hold over the Beiji oil refinery in Saladin province, north of Baghdad, last year andheavy fightinghas been reported recently in and around the area.
Washington last year said disrupting the ability of the Islamic State to raise funds through oil revenue was a key US military objective.
The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in itsmarket report for Mayits total crude oil production of 30.8 million barrels per day was 18,000 barrels per day above the previous month. “Crude oil output increased mostly from Iraq and Iran,” the oil cartel said.
Conflict in the Middle East weighed on markets as Iraqi forces tried to regain control over key parts of Anbar, a Sunni-dominated province falling increasingly under ISIS control. However, despite the geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, crude oil prices fell on May 26 on mixed economic news that suggest a sluggish demand. Brent crude oil pricesfell 1.1%from the previous close to trade at $64.60 per barrel early on May 26. Brent prices are down about 2.3% from the start of May. The price for West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, wasdown 1.5%from the previous close to $58.81 per barrel. WTI started May at around $59.19 per barrel.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/iran-denies-helping-iraq-battle-isis-for-oil-refinery/