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Hormuz incidents highlight Iraqi export vulnerability

Iraq is scrambling to diversify its oil export routes amidst Iran-U.S. tensions, but there are no quick fixes.
Tankers load at the al-Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT) on June 19, 2019. (JASSIM AL-JABIRI/Iraq Oil Report)

BAGHDAD - Iraq is confronting a major strategic vulnerability -- its lack of diversified oil export routes -- as Iran continues to disrupt shipping lanes amidst rising tension with the U.S.

More than 96 percent of Iraq's federal oil exports travel through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian operatives reportedly seized an oil tanker from the UAE this week and the U.S. military on Thursday said it shot down an Iranian drone -- the latest in a series of escalating incidents that threaten to close down a key choke point of both Iraq's economy and the world's oil supply.

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