Iraq holds Turkiye ‘fully responsible’ for water shortage

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Ankara has yet to respond to Baghdad’s offer of major economic incentives, including expanded trade and electricity fuel imports, in exchange for increased water releases into Iraq, the Parliamentary Agriculture and Water Committee warned on Thursday.

Committee Chairman Faleh al-Khazali told Shafaq News that “the Turkish side has not replied despite 136 Turkish incursions and four military bases inside Iraqi territory,” questioning Ankara’s seriousness in addressing the water crisis.

Al-Khazali cautioned of “grave consequences” if water shortages persist, saying the crisis could threaten social stability in central and southern provinces, while holding Turkiye “fully responsible” if it fails to raise water flows.

Iraq, according to the lawmaker, needs at least 800 cubic meters per second of water, while current Turkish releases are no more than 350 cubic meters per second and could fall to 300. “This is insufficient to meet even the minimum demand,” he warned, adding that Baghdad’s main water treatment plants risk going offline without a fair share of water.

Turkiye had announced a partial increase in water flows earlier this month, raising the rate on the Tigris River to 420 cubic meters per second following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani in Ankara.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani later confirmed that both Turkiye and Syria had agreed to boost water releases to Iraq. He said Turkiye would release 320 cubic meters per second to Mosul Dam and 350 cubic meters through the Iraqi-Syrian border, measures he described as essential to easing shortages in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.