US renews sanctions waiver for Iraq to allow it to buy electricity from Iran

Jul 19. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The US government has extended its sanctions waiver for Iraq to buy electricity from Iran for another four months, something it has done on several occasions in the face of Baghdad’s reliance on imported electricity to meet demand in the Asian country.

“We have renewed this waiver for the 22nd time,” said US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel, who stressed that this measure “allows Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity while continuing to develop its domestic generating capabilities and creating its independence from Iranian energy.”

He explained that these exemptions are “short-term” and “provisional measures to provide energy stability,” before adding that Washington wants Iraq, “like any other country,” to be able to “have access to constant and secure energy, which is vital for so many civil infrastructure projects and civil establishments.”

“We encourage the Government of Iraq to take significant steps to accelerate its efforts to disconnect itself from Iranian energy sources,” something that has already been taking place “over the past several years,” Patel said during the daily press briefing at the US State Department.

“Currently our estimates are that (Iraq) relies on Iran for about 25 percent of its energy. Just a few years ago, that figure was 40 percent,” he stressed. “In recent years we have seen our partners in Iraq double their electricity generation capacity, so we are seeing progress and steps in the right direction and we want to continue to see a clear plan, which includes realistic and measurable milestones,” he added.

The United States reimposed a battery of sanctions against Iran after unilaterally withdrawing in 2018, under President Donald Trump, from the historic nuclear agreement signed in 2015, which has led Tehran to advance certain sectors of its nuclear program in response to the measure of the American authorities.