Turkiye withholds water despite new agreement with Iraq

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Turkiye’s latest visit to Baghdad focused on water-agreement implementation, yet the talks remained “one-sided,” the Green Iraq Observatory reported on Sunday.

According to the Observatory, Turkish officials discussed launching projects outlined in the agreement, including water-harvesting dams and programs to regulate consumption in irrigation, livestock, and domestic use.

“Turkiye continues to withhold agreed water releases into the Tigris and Euphrates, leaving river levels unchanged since summer,” it stated, adding that southern marshes remain dry, and salinity in Basra’s waterways has not improved.

Read more: From drought to saltwater: Iraq's deepening watercrisis

Baghdad and Ankara signed the executive document of their water-cooperation framework on November 2, 2025, a deal officials called historic. The agreement gives Turkiye a five-year mandate to manage rapid water releases and related infrastructure, and includes a pledge to deliver about one billion cubic meters of water to Iraq to ease its severe shortages.

Read more: Oil for Water: Iraq bets on new Turkiye deal to ease drought crisis