U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is piling pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, eight sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Iraqi authorities have rejected reports that they have allowed a resumption of oil exports from the Kurdistan region because of threats by the US government.

Oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will resume next week, Iraq's oil minister said on Monday, resolving a near two-year dispute as ties between Baghdad and Erbil improve, potentially adding more supply to the oil market and weighing on prices.

Iraq’s oil ministry repeated that it’s ready to restart exports from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan via a pipeline to Turkey that’s been shut for almost two years.

Iraq has resumed oil exports from its northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, ending a nearly two-year halt. This follows the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration ruling in favor of Iraq regarding the Kurdish region’s independent oil export.

Kurdistan is set to resume oil exports by the end of March following a two-year halt due to a dispute with the Iraqi government.

The president of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region signaled the likely resumption of oil exports next month, the latest optimism that an almost two-year shutdown that cost the nation some $19 billion in lost revenue could soon be over.

Iraq is set to resume oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, ending a two-year dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region. The U.S. administration had previously put pressure on Iraq to allow Kurdish oil exports,