ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed said on Saturday that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to provide security guarantees for oil companies operating in the Region to put an end to attacks targeting them.

“Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi promised to guarantee the security of investment companies, following a visit by a committee … in coordination with Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani,” Ahmed told reporters.

His remarks come a week after Erbil and Baghdad reached an agreement to enhance the protection of oil companies and critical energy infrastructure following a visit by a high-level Iraqi security delegation to Erbil at Zaidi's direction.

Ahmed said Baghdad and Erbil “are working together on [establishing] defense systems” under the agreement to provide “security guarantees” for oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region “in response to those companies' demands.”

The Kurdistan Region's energy infrastructure has been targeted by drone strikes from Iran and its allied militias for several years.

The attacks reached unprecedented levels following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025 and the more recent Iran war that began in late February.

Since the outbreak of the latest conflict, the Kurdistan Region has come under hundreds of drone and missile attacks, many of them targeting oil and gas facilities.

The Iraqi government on Saturday praised the new security agreement with Erbil, describing it as a key step toward safeguarding Iraq's national wealth.

The effort also aligns with one of Zaidi's key government priorities: bringing all weapons under the exclusive authority of the Iraqi state. Several pro-Iran armed factions have already announced their willingness to surrender their weapons and integrate into Iraq's state security institutions.