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Iraq's Kata’ib Hezbollah holds drill in preparation for possible war with US


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Iraqi Hezbollah Suspects US Moves in Iraq, Threatens to React

Iraqi Hezbollah Suspects US Moves in Iraq, Threatens to React

ERBIL — The Iran-backed militia of Kataib Hezbollah says the recent US military mobilizations in Iraq are “suspicious”, and that the group could react.

Mohammed Mouhie, a spokesperson for the Shia militia group, which operates under the umbrella of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary group, said they suspect the recent US military moves in Iraq could be part of Washington’s plans with a specific intention.

The comment comes after US pulled out it’s troops from three bases in Iraq and redeployed them to larger military camps in Iraq, Kurdistan Region, and Kuwait.

The evacuated bases were in western province of Anbar, as well as those in Nineveh and Kirkuk provinces, north of Iraq.

“This is suspicious. We will face them if they do not leave Iraq completely,” Mouhie said.

Meanwhile, military sources told AFP on Monday that the US has deployed Patriot missile system to its military bases in Anbar and Erbil provinces as part of the plan to secure its positions against any possible attacks from Iran or its proxy militias.

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The first comment from the PMF on the deployment of the American "Patriot" system

 
 
 2020/03/31 
 

Shafaq News / The leader in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Kamal Al-Hasnawi commented on Tuesday, on the deployment of the American forces to the Patriot air defense missile system in Iraq.

Al-Hasnawi told Shafaq News, "This matter was done without the knowledge and approval of the Iraqi government, which refuses to install such systems for the American forces, so Baghdad will accelerate the withdrawal of these forces."

He explained that "the deployment of the Patriot air defense system, by the American forces, violates the sovereignty of Iraq, and the evidence for that these forces are occupier , and they must get out by all legal means and means."

The French news agency (AFP) quoted US and Iraqi military sources as saying that the United States began deploying the Patriot air defense missile system in Iraq.

The sources said that one of the Patriot batteries arrived at Ein al-Assad base in western Iraq last week, and is being installed

The United States began deploying the Patriot air defense missile system in Iraq, according to sources, as one of the Patriot batteries arrived at Ein al-Assad base in western Iraq last week.

There are American soldiers at the base, which was attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles last January in response to the US assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, near Baghdad airport.

Patriot systems consist of highly sophisticated radars and interceptors that can destroy a ballistic missile while it is flying.

A US official said that another battery arrived at a base in Erbil, the largest city in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, adding that two other batteries are still in Kuwait pending to be transferred to Iraq.

A Western diplomat in Baghdad noted that "the goal of the United States from the Patriot is to protect its forces, which are now present in fewer bases."

Washington and Baghdad have been negotiating to deploy the air defense system since the January attack, and it is not clear whether the United States has obtained the approval of the Iraqi government to deploy the system.

Iraq opposed the deployment of the American defense system, and a military source familiar with the negotiations said that high-ranking Iraqi officials indicated during a meeting with US Central Command commander Gen. Kenneth Mackenzie last February that Washington could give Baghdad a political "cover" by reducing its number in Iraq with the deployment of defensive missiles.

Indeed, the US-led international coalition to fight the Islamic State has withdrawn its soldiers from several bases in recent weeks.

On Monday, the coalition forces withdrew from a military base in the northern city of Mosul, the fourth from which they will withdraw this month.

Coalition officials said the ultimate goal was to continue to support Iraqi forces fighting the remnants of ISIS, but "from fewer bases and fewer soldiers."

The coalition is also temporarily withdrawing hundreds of its trainers and stopping all training with Iraqi forces since the beginning of March to avoid the risks of Corona epidemic among its forces.

A statement issued by the office of the head of the Iraqi caretaker government, Adel Abdul Mahdi warned of "the danger of carrying out any act of assault without the approval of the Iraqi government," without referring to the Patriot.

The statement indicated that "there is an unauthorized flight" flying over different Iraqi regions.

Although the international coalition has not obtained the green light from the Iraqi government to fly any reconnaissance planes and drones since early January, American drones are still flying in Iraqi airspace, a US military official told reporters in Baghdad.

 

https://www.shafaaq.com/en/iraq-news/the-first-comment-from-the-pmf-on-the-deployment-of-the-american-patriot-system/

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2 missiles fired on US troops intercepted in Iraq

2 missiles fired on US troops intercepted in Iraq

ANBAR, Iraq

Missile defense batteries have intercepted a rocket attack on the Ain al-Assad base in the west of Iraq, which hosts U.S. troops, an Iraqi army source said on Tuesday.

The Iraqi officer who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity said that Patriot missiles intercepted two rockets launched towards the Ain al-Assad base west of the al-Ramadi city.

On Monday, Washington deployed Patriot missile defense batteries in bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq, in Ain al-Assad base and Harir base in Erbil.

Recently, U.S. soldiers in Iraq came under rocket attacks that Washington blames on Iranian-backed militias in the country.

So far, the Baghdad has not commented on the Patriot defense batteries' deployment.

Following the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, the Iraqi parliament in January demanded the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara

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Iran and US preparing for new round of conflict in Iraq

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The US-led Coalition has been repositioning forces in the last weeks, handing over several key posts, and training of Iraqi forces is temporarily wrapping up.

Reports indicate that Iran, the US and Iranian proxies are all preparing for a conflict in Iraq after a year of rising tensions, rocket attacks and airstrikes.

The US-led Coalition has been repositioning forces in the last weeks, handing over several key posts, and the training of Iraqi forces is temporarily wrapping up. Several European powers that contributed to the Coalition seem to be bringing forces home due to the pandemic.

What is left in Iraq amid the tensions look like two boxers in the ring waiting to see what happens next.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that the Pentagon had drawn up “secret plans to escalate combat in Iraq against Iranian-backed militia.”

But the plan is no longer “secret” and it turns out that commanders may have opposed the concept. Some want a showdown with Iran.

Since last May tensions grew between the US and Iran in the Middle East. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned at the time about Iranian plans against theUS in Iraq.

Iran’s role in Iraq is complex and multi-layered, but it mainly consists of Iranian-backed militias called the Popular Mobilization Units. These units are part of the security forces and are called the Hashd al-Shaabi.

They also have political parties, such as the Fatah Alliance and often have their own theological underpinning with figures like Asaib Ahl al-Haq’s Qais Khazali leading them. They are usually rooted in the Islamic  Revolutionary Guard Corps, where  their leaders, like Hadi al-Amiri of the Badr Organization, served in the 1980s  alongside Iran.

The US assassinated Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy of the PMU and head of Kataib Hezbollah in January. He was involved in rocket attacks throughout 2019 againstUS forces on bases in Iraq. US State Department assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker warned Iran against these proxy attacks in December.

He made similar warnings in February. Iran’s proxies killed a US contractor in December near Kirkuk, and theUS responded with airstrikes at  five locations in Syria and Iraq. On March 11, three members of the Coalition, two of them American, were killed by another rocket attack on Taji base. The US struck  five more locations, mostly warehouses linked to the PMU, in Iraq in retaliation.

It is important to remember the US also killed IRGC Quds force commander Qasem Soleimani in early January, leading to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on two bases where US forces are located in Iraq.

Add to this picture the Iranian attacks on ships in May and June in the Gulf of Oman, the September attack on Saudi Arabia, and Iran’s other attacks on Saudi Arabia using proxies, and the wider picture is of a growing conflict.

But Iran is also facing a pandemic and has less resources now to confront both the US and the coronavirus. US Senator Jim Inhofe visited White in February and came away from the meeting assured that the strike on Soleimani was the right call and Iran’s activities were seriously  disrupted.” We know this because Iran asked Hezbollah to send Mohammad al-Kawtharani to Iraq to help unify the PMU after Soleimani and Muhandis were hit. Other PMU leaders went to Qom in January and Iran sent Ali Shamkhani of its Supreme National Security Council  to Iraq on March 9.

It is in this context that the US apparently pushed plans to attack Kataib Hezbollah, either in retaliation or pre-emptively. Critics say these plans were pushed by Pompeo and the National Security Council. Was the planned campaign merely defensive? Kataib Hezbollah has been putting up videos claiming it will target the US with snipers and RPGs as it did in the early 2000s.

The US was already moving forces in Iraq, consolidating areas it works in and withdrawing from exposed posts at Qaim and Q-West. Officially this was due to the pandemic, but it may have been to reduce the potential targets available to Kataib Hezbollah in case of escalation. There is reticence in the US for deploying more troops to Iraq and the current numbers are thought to be around 5,000 or so. That isn’t enough for a major campaign against the PMU, who number some 100,000. Combined with airpower it s surely more than enough to destroy Kataib Hezbollah, at least temporarily.

We know, according to the Times report, that US Defense Secretary Mark Esper authorized the planning for a “new campaign inside Iraq.” It was to provide options for US President Donald Trump “in the event that Iranian-backed militia groups escalate,” the report notes. This appears profoundly defensive or deterrence oriented. Questions about the plan allegedly came from Lt. Gen. Robert “Pat” White.

This makes sense because White had just commended the Coalition for the one-year anniversary of the defeat of ISIS in Baghouz on March 23. The US wants ISIS to remain defeated. 

The problem for the US-led Coalition has always been that its mandate is to fight ISIS. However those in Washington have pushed for mission creep in both Iraq and Syria in the wake of the defeat of ISIS in Mosul and Raqqa in 2017. Some proposed using the US presence in Syria as a counterbalance to Iran’s role and to block Iran’s “road to the sea” via Syria. Others felt that Iraq could be used to “watch Iran,” as Trump said in 2018.

US commanders are clear to say to the Iraqis that their mission in Iraq didn’t change. 

They are in Iraq to fight ISIS at the invitation of Baghdad. But statements from Washington and airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah are being used by Amiri and Muqtada al-Sadr, leading of the largest political party in Iraq, to push for the US to leave. 

The militias have supported removing the US for years. Khazali, and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba’s Akram al-Kaabi all have put out statements urging Iraq to evict the Americans. This is why the spokesman for the US-led Coalition Col. Myles Caggins stressed on March 26 that the US is in Iraq at the invitation of the Government ofIraq to defeat ISIS, “this is our only purpose. Period. We’re transferring bases,” he noted. Also hundreds of troops were temporarily departing.

The report appears to show that there are different messages and power plays at work. 

It is entirely normal the US would plan for defensive retaliation in case Iranian-backed proxies escalate. Whether that planning means going beyond the normal airstrikes into a more wide-ranging campaign appears to be a question. 

The Iranian “axis of resistance,” says it is preparing to fight the Americans if they do anything. This includes the IRGC, the PMU, Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups. “The coronavirus will not drop the alert,” Elijah Magnier, a journalist knowledgeable of  these issues, notes, “no US base will be exempted from the response.” Elijah Magnier also tweeted on March 27 thatIran had informed the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which can pass the message to the US, that “any US military aggression against Iran will be met with a highly destructive response.”

Iran’s proxies are also smart enough not to give the US an excuse. After the US airstrikes on March 13 in retaliation for the Taji attack, a new group called Osbat al-Thaereen appeared on March 16. 

It claimed responsibility for an attack on Taji. This is the usual model of groups that want to give Iran plausible deniability behind attacks. It is the same method Hezbollah uses in Lebanon, maintaining its own militia and a party in parliament. In Iraq the PMU has a problem because it is more like the IRGC, a state institution. So it needs a new group that can be a stand-in for Kataib Hezbollah.

In order to confuse the Americans a new trend has emerged in Iraq. Not only was a new group established to take the heat from Kataib Hezbollah and the PMU, sources began to accuse the US of preparing a military coup. This comes in the context of Iraq’s president choosing a new Prime Minister designate named Adnan al-Zurufi. 

On cue Mehr News in Iran says the US is moving toward a coup on March 27. Kataib Hezbollah then published photos of preparing to fight the Americans, claiming suspicious US activity. Anti-US voices in Iraq have rejected Zurufi, arguing that he worked closely with theUS in the early 2000s.

An Iraqi analyst Majid Jasim says the US is consolidating its positions, sending Patriot missiles to defend them from rocket attacks and not planning a coup. Yet the US is also evacuating non-essential staff from Iraq, a process in place since may 2019. 

The State Department seems to have ordered home even more personnel on March 26. Rockets had just hit near an “operations center that coordinates Iraqi security forces,” in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Stars and Stripes reported. And the US gave Iraq only 30 days to stop gas imports from Iran.

Everyone is ready now in Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah has conducted a drill to fight the Americans. They trained to fight the US in rural areas, cities and to stop a US air assault. Several brigades of the PMU participated in the drill. The absence of people on the streets due to thecoronavirus curfews adds to the equations of any escalation. Iranian-backed proxies can’t disguise their movements as easily if there is a curfew. Iran has allegedly trafficked ballistic missiles to Iraq in 2018 and 2019, for instance.

The proxies disguise rocket launchers in trucks and vans or hide them in buildings. The US consolidation makes Americans harder targets. But the larger calculation is in Tehran and Washington. Some in the Pentagon, and theUS public, are wary of a new round of escalation in Iraq.Iran likely also must weigh escalation against merely doing nothing and letting the US slowly withdraw. Those are the calculations today that link  rising tensions in Iraq to larger regional and global issues.

D

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Trump threatens heavy price if Iran conducts 'sneak attack' on US troops

The Iraqi military found a pick-up truck with a rocket launcher mounted in the back and three rockets still in the cambers, believed to be invovled in the attack on the the Taji military base north of Baghdad.
 
The Iraqi military found a pick-up truck with a rocket launcher mounted in the back and three rockets still in the cambers, believed to be invovled in the attack on the the Taji military base north of Baghdad.

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday, without citing any evidence, that the administration has information that "Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/or assets in Iraq." Trump added, "If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!"

The President's tweet, which the White House did not elaborate upon, comes as the US has picked up more intelligence in the last several days from an ongoing stream indicating that Iranian-backed militias inside Iraq are potentially planning an attack against US forces in the near future, one US official said. 
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The intelligence is some of the latest in a threat stream that the US has been monitoring in Iraq in recent months, the official said. It follows the US killing of Iran's second most powerful official, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in January, and ***-for-tat strikes between the US and Iraq-based militias in March. 
 
 
On March 12, US warplanes struck five targets in southern Iraq affiliated with a militia with ties to Iran after a rocket attack the day before killed two Americans and a British soldier. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper the attack was carried out by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups. Soleimani's killing prompted calls for revenge from Iranian officials and affiliated militias in the region. 
This newest intelligence includes information gathered from people in the region as well as communications intercepts, the official said. It comes as Iran is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed senior officials, sent others into isolation and left health systems overwhelmed by an estimated 47,000 known infections, according to the World Health Organization.
The coronavirus has slowed down much of Iran's planning and it is possible it could still stall any attack, the official said. Since the US killed Soleimani, there has not been a leader of his influence over the militias and the forces he once controlled inside Iraq, adding to uncertainty. 
The New York Times has reported that there has been tension within the Trump administration about whether to escalate military action against Iran, with officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging a harder response after the March 11 killing of the two Americans. 
Pompeo and national security adviser Robert O'Brien have argued that a hard response to Iran while the coronavirus pummels the country would make its leaders more open to negotiating with the US, the Times reported. 
But Pentagon officials, including Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, have argued against such a move. They have said that they lacked clear evidence the March 11 attack had been ordered by Iran, the Times said. And they've cautioned that a harsher response could give rise to a wider war with Iran and further damage badly strained ties with Iraq, they warned.
In the end, the US conducted its March 12 airstrikes on weapons depots. Since then, the Pentagon has taken steps to improve defenses for its troops stationed in Iraq.
Last month, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, said for the first time that the US is moving PATRIOT missile systems into Iraq. "We've put the preparatory materiel in place that will allow us to establish PATRIOT positions inside Iraq," McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon.
The US will be sending the PATRIOTs to bases in Al Asad and Irbil, and will also strengthen both places with counter-artillery and rockets systems. US troops have also consolidated into fewer bases within Iraq.
The US assessment is if there is an attack against US forces, the militias as well as elements of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps would likely use a combination of rockets fired from their position inside Iraq and armed drones fired from inside Iran. 
The assessment is these weapons would give plausible deniability to the attackers. It's a strategy that differs from Tehran's January 8 attack on the Al Asad base, which is used by American, Iraqi and British forces. That assault, meant to retaliate for Soleimani's January 3 killing, used ballistic missiles unique to Iran.
For the last several weeks, the Pentagon has been refining an extensive package of military options for Trump if a response to Iran is required. As always, the options range from non-kinetic actions, such as potential cyber operations, to a full-scale attack against multiple targets inside Iran.

CNN's Ryan Browne contributed to this report

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13 hours ago, Gypsygirl11 said:

Jesus Christ, it never ends. These people must be stupid or something. SMH. Obviously they have a death wish

I have to ask,,,  what does SMH stand for?  I keep on seeing it but dont know what it is short for. 

That's all 

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IMHO . . . I don't see any opportunity for a RV/RI. Let's get back in there and finish the job right this time. That would probably include whatever measures the US Military sees fit to do that will once and for all eliminate the Pro-Iranin GOI from Iraq.

Edited by horsesoldier
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Iran hits back after Trump claims it is planning Iraq attacks

 

US president accuses Tehran or its proxies of planning ‘sneak’ assault on US bases

 

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Thu 2 Apr 2020 18.11 BST

 

 

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US Patriot deployment breaches Iraq’s sovereignty, says lawmaker

 
US soldiers can be seen with patriot missiles [US Air Force photo/ Airman 1st Class Debbie Lockhart]
April 3, 2020 at 3:51 pm 

A member of the Iraqi parliament’s security and defence committee has condemned the deployment of Patriot missile defence systems at bases hosting US forces in the country, saying they are a breach of Iraq’s sovereignty.

“The decision about the withdrawal of foreign forces, including US troops, is not reversible as it represents the Iraqi nation’s will to respond to Washington’s crimes in Iraq, its flagrant intervention in the country’s domestic affairs in addition to its repeated targeting of Hashd Al-Sha’abi forces [Popular Mobilisation Forces] and its leaders,” Karim Alawi told Al-Maalomah news agency in an interview yesterday.

“According to the available information, the US-built Patriot missile was installed in three military bases where American forces are stationed. This runs counter to the sovereignty of Iraq,” he explained.

READ: Iraq launches military operation against Daesh remnants

One of the US bases which received the Patriot system was the Ain Al-Assad airbase located in the western Anbar province and was targeted by retaliatory missile strikes from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in response to the assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani at the beginning of the year, which also killed a top commander in the PMF, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.

On 5 January, the Iraqi parliament voted in favour of a resolution calling on foreign forces to withdraw from the country. Whilst there has been some reduction in troop presence in recent days, there has also been redeployments from smaller bases. Kataib Hezbollah which forms part of the PMF set a 15 March deadline on US troops to withdraw from Iraq and there has been an increase in rocket attacks against US targets. Last month two Americans and a British Army medic were killed in a rocket attack outside Baghdad, leading to US airstrikes against five weapon storage sites linked to the group. However, a new resistance faction – known as Usbat Al-Tha’ireen (League of Revolutionaries) – claimed responsibility and has vowed further attacks against US forces.

READ: Iran’s Quds Force commander pays secret visit to Iraq

Yesterday they released drone footage which allegedly showed they were able to hover over the US embassy in Baghdad; a precursor to being able to carry out strikes against it.

This comes amid heightened tensions between the US and the resistance factions which are considered part of the Iraqi armed forces, some of whom have close ties to Iran. US President Trump hinted on Wednesday that Iran may be planning sneak attacks against US forces and vowed there would be a strong retaliation. Last week the New York Times reported that the Pentagon had ordered a secret directive, which called on US military commanders to prepare for military action against Kataib Hezbollah.

Iran has responded to Trump’s statements with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif taking to Twitter cautioning people not to be misled again by “warmongers”, adding that Iran has friends not proxies. “Iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to those who do”.

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I suspect the Insanian, to INCLUDE the Insanian IRGC, AND Insanian Mu lah lahs are under THEIR own AND the Deep Do Do States' BEHEST to instill an ALL OUT "armed" "conflict" ON Bicraqi Iraqi Soil TO LOCK THINGS UP!!!

 

One of the FEW, if NOT LAST, remaining gasps of the Insanian, to INCLUDE the Insanian IRGC, AND Insanian Mu lah lahs to maintain the Insanian, to INCLUDE the Insanian IRGC, AND Insanian Mu lah lahs as a tool for the Deep Do Do State.

 

By the way, has ANYONE seen or heard ANYTHING about Scary John Kerry???!!!

 

WHERE, pray tell, IS HE???!!!

 

The True The United States Of America Patriot President Donald J Trump NOW Head Of The United States Of America Treasury AND The United States Of America Federal Reverse, er, Reserve "truncating" Scary John Kerry's AND The Deep Do Do States' "operational" "funding"???!!!

 

Buh Bye Insanian, to INCLUDE the Insanian IRGC, AND Insanian Mu lah lahs AND Deep Do Do State!!!

 

:wave:   :wave:   :wave:   :wave:   :wave:   :wave:   :wave:

 

Go Moola Nova!

:pirateship:

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Iran-backed militia's threat on US troops in Iraq remains significant

us troops bp

The threat from Iranian-backed militia to U.S. forces in Iraq continues to be "significant," the U.S. State Department's senior diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, adding that Washington was taking "with a pinch of salt" a ceasefire declaration by Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, Reuters reported.

Speaking to reporters in a teleconference, David Schenker, Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department also praised the previous work of Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq's intelligence chief who was named as prime-minister designate on Thursday.

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I am really hoping we do not need to clean out the Hezbollah Iranian backed militia’s in Iraq before we get RV’ed but I am sure reading a boatload of articles that appear that may be the case. Iran and the USA seem to be gearing up for another War in Iraq.  

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Missiles Fired In Iraq As Proxy War Heats Up

By Editorial Dept - Apr 10, 2020, 12:00 PM CDT

COVID-19 Market Update

- While JPMorgan has been trying to ditch the discount loans it holds from Gulf sovereign wealth funds (notably, Saudi Arabia’s and the UAE’s) as prices crash and demand crumbles, the UAE is gearing up for its own bond sale, hot on the heels of Qatar’s. And given the situation, investors will get a premium, if they’re willing to take the risk. Qatar was the first to recently test investor appetite for the region’s debt with a $10-billion bond sale on Tuesday. A day later, Abu Dhabi launched its own cash raise, with initial prices giving investors a premium of around 70-80 basis points over existing bonds. On Wednesday, Abu Dhabi sold $7 billion in bonds.

- Back in Saudi Arabia, all those Aramco bondholders are wondering what comes next. The $12 billion in bonds they hold recorded an 8.2% loss in March, and they are likely to remain under intense pressure in April and May.

- After soaring to great heights last week, supertanker rates fell this week as the market held its breath over the virtual OPEC meeting, avoiding new bookings until the outcome of that meeting was made clear, based largely on the assumption that there would be a scale-down of Saudi seaborne exports following an agreement. The VLCC market for the Middle East-China route saw rates slashed in half this week, from their high last week over anticipated production cuts that are not yet forthcoming.

- The US Congress rejected a plan to…

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