ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iranian consul in Erbil on Friday condemned the recent drone attack on the Kurdistan Region’s strategic Khor Mor gas field, calling it “unacceptable.”
“The act, regardless of who committed it, is unacceptable and we condemn it,” Consul General Faramaz Asadi told Rudaw, adding that the attack targeted “the security of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the well-being of its dear people.”
A drone hit a storage tank at Khor Mor late on Wednesday, sparking a fire that burned for hours and triggered widespread power outages across the Kurdistan Region. No group has claimed responsibility. Kurdish officials described it as a terrorist attack.
Khor Mor, located in the Chamchamal district of Sulaimani province, is operated by Pearl Petroleum, a consortium led by Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum. The site has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks Kurdish authorities blame on Iran-backed militias that operate outside Baghdad’s control.
The United States embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday it is “prepared to lend support to efforts to protect this critical infrastructure,” following calls by Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani for Washington and the international community to provide defensive systems to safeguard civilian sites.
Mark Savaya, the newly appointed US special envoy to Baghdad, attributed the strike to armed groups “operating illegally and driven by hostile foreign agendas.”
Dana Gas said production has been halted to extinguish the fire and assess damage. The Kurdistan Region’s electricity ministry said the attack knocked out about 80 percent of power generation, leading to major outages.
At the same time, Iran halted natural gas exports to Iraq due to “maintenance work,” electricity ministry spokesperson Ahmed Musa told Rudaw. Iraq remains heavily dependent on Iranian energy imports, which are often irregular.
A high-level Iraqi delegation - including Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari, Iraqi National Intelligence Service chief Hamid al-Shatri, and Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed - visited the site on Friday to assess the damage.
A technical committee headed by Shammari, Ahmed, and Shatri began its investigation on Friday and results are inspected within 72 hours, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces Sabah al-Numan told Rudaw.
A member of the delegation told Rudaw on condition of anonymity that Dana Gas is prepared to resume production at the field, but seeks “security assurances.”
Arkan Ali, Bakhtyar Ali and Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.