ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior US government official on Wednesday discussed the recent attack on the Kurdistan Region’s main gas field, Khor Mor, during a visit to Erbil where he opened Washington’s largest consulate compound in the world. He stressed that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and US Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas addressed last week's drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency. Rigas condemned the assault and emphasized that the perpetrators “must be brought to justice, and that weapons should only be in the hands of the state.”
President Barzani told the delegation that the visit “demonstrates the US’s commitment to maintaining long-term strategic relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
Located in the Chamchamal district of Sulaimani province, the Khor Mor gas field came under attack last week, drawing condemnation at the local, regional, and international levels.
UAE-based Dana Gas announced on Wednesday that production at Khor Mor has returned to normal levels, highlighting “strengthened security measures” implemented by Kurdish and federal authorities to safeguard the strategic facility.
Rigas also met with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, discussing a range of topics, including the Khor Mor attack.
“We strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Khor Mor gas field,” Prime Minister Barzani said in a Facebook post.
The US official later held talks with Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.
“I explained that the repeated attacks on the Region’s economic and energy infrastructure demonstrate the need to maintain coordination between the Region and the US,” Talabani said.
Iraq is the second stop on Rigas’s Middle East tour, which also includes Turkey and Israel. Before arriving in Erbil, he held meetings with Iraqi officials in Baghdad.
"The United States will continue to speak clearly to the urgency in dismantling Iran-backed militias that undermine Iraq’s sovereignty, threaten Americans and Iraqis, and pilfer Iraqi resources for Iran," said the US embassy in Baghdad on X following Rigas' meeting with the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
The Kurdish officials have blamed Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups for the Khor Mor attack and the previous ones in the Region, including those targeting oil fields operated by American firms.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
A joint Iraqi and Kurdish security committee has been formed to investigate the incident but it has yet to publish the results of the probe.