Trump administration allows Iraq to import oil and gas from Iran for only 45 days

The outgoing US President Donald Trump's administration has reduced the period of exemption from Iraq from sanctions related to dealing with Iran, which Baghdad relies on to import energy, according to the Washington Post.

And the maximum pressure campaign imposed by the Trump administration on Iran has made Iraq dependent on renewed US waivers to buy a third of its gas and electricity needs from Iran.

On Friday, a State Department spokesman said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extended the waiver for an additional 45 days, leaving the Trump administration with a final decision on whether to extend or cut it completely before the new president is installed on January 20.

Typically, the exemptions last 120 days, allowing Iraqi and American officials time to determine how Iraq gets the necessary electricity, and this period was reduced to 60 days in the summer.

Iraq has suffered from a severe shortage of electric power supplies for several years, despite successive governments spending more than 50 billion dollars on this sector since 2003, so it relies heavily on Iranian gas and oil, which reaches it at high prices.

Reports had revealed that Iran was interfering in Iraqi affairs and imposing its interests at the expense of the interests of the Iraqi people. The former Minister of Electricity, Qasim al-Fahdawi, confirmed that Saudi Arabia had offered to sell Iraq gas to it at prices lower than international prices. After the deal was approved, the Iraqi delegation did not travel to sign due to Iranian pressure.

"Secretary Pompeo renewed the exemption from sanctions on Iraq to participate in financial transactions related to importing electricity from Iran," the State Department spokesman added, adding, "The exemption ensures that Iraq is able to meet its energy needs in the short term while taking steps to reduce its dependence on energy imports from Iranian."

In practical terms, the decision deepens the pressure on the Iraqi government, which is already under pressure from US threats to withdraw its embassy from Baghdad.

Washington used the sanctions exemption and withdrawal of the embassy as a leverage to push Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi to reduce his government's dependence on Iran and weaken the influence of Iranian-backed groups in Iraq.

T/S

ANHA