Iran's military spokesman declared that Iraq is exempt from current shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. This exemption could potentially release 3 million barrels of Iraqi oil cargoes into global energy markets.

The Iranian military said Iraq is exempt from shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz that have strangled global energy flows for weeks. “Brotherly Iraq is exempt from any restrictions we have imposed on the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s military spokesman said in an Arabic-language video statement published by state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. The declaration has the potential to unleash as much as 3 million barrels a day of Iraqi oil cargoes. It also comes just days after a French...