BAGHDAD
US ends Iraq’s waiver to buy Iranian electricity
Washington has declined to renew a sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to buy electricity from neighboring
Iran, a spokesperson for the American embassy in Baghdad said on March 9.
Despite having immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, and Iran supplies a third of the country’s gas and electricity.
The Baghdad government, which hopes to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2028, said it had prepared “for all scenarios” regarding the waiver.
The decision “ensures we do not allow Iran any degree of economic or financial relief,” the U.S. embassy spokesperson said.
The statement did not mention Iranian gas imports, which are crucial for Iraq’s domestic electricity generation.
The waiver was introduced in 2018, when Washington reimposed sanctions on Tehran after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a nuclear deal with Iran during his first term in office.