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By John Lee.
Iran’s gas and electricity exports to Iraq are reportedy expected to reach $5 billion by the end of the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 21, 2020.
Mehr news agency quotes the Secretary General of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber, Seyed Hamid Hosseini, as saying that if Iraq agrees it is possible for Iran to barter the necessary goods in return for the gas and electricity, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) “should cooperate in this regard“.
(Source: Tehran Times)
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraq exports around 3.5 million barrels of oil a day.
Heightened regional tensions between the US and Iran and recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf have heightened security fears.
The government of Iraq is worried about the threat to its oil exports – and how its economy could suffer.
Al Jazeera‘s Charles Stratford reports:
Iran Has Taken Invaluable Steps to Cement Ties with Iraq: Envoy
Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi highlighted the importance of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries and said Tehran has taken major strides to strengthen ties with Baghdad.
“We are trying to boost our relations with Iraq in all areas,” Masjedi said, addressing an appreciation ceremony for the outgoing Iranian consuls in the Iraqi cities of Sulaymaniyah and Karbala.
“The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad, as well as the affiliated organizations and consulates and other governmental agencies of Iran in Iraq, have taken invaluable strides and actions at various political, economic and security levels to strengthen relations between the two countries in recent years,” the diplomat noted.
Masjedi further pointed to historical, cultural and ideological commonalities of the two countries and said closer ties in all fields are in line with the interests of both Iran and Iraq.
Iran and Iraq enjoy cordial political, security and cultural ties but due to some internal and regional problems including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) terrorism in Iraq, they have not been able to increase their trade volume.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently paid an official visit to Iraq to boost ties with the Arab country in the sanctions era.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans in March to extend a 90-day waiver for the second time to let Iraq continue energy imports from Iran.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
After decades, Iran, Iraq ready to Dredge the Shatt al-Arab
Hope of restoring a clean water lifeline to Basra province is on the rise again with plans by the Iraqi and Iranian governments to revive the Shatt al-Arab as a source of drinking water and improve its functioning as a trade route.
By Hamdi Malik for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
ExxonMobil evacuated dozens of its non-Iraqi employees from Iraq on May 18. The evacuation follows a US State Department decision to withdraw its non-essential staff from the US Embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The US oil company relocated its employees to Dubai, where they will continue their work related to the West Qurna-1 oil field in Basra. The company announced May 31 that it will begin returning its employees from June 2 after the Iraqi government promised to increase the security measures in the site.
By John Lee.
Contrary to recent reports that the US had granted a waiver to Iraq to allow it to continue buying power from Iran, a State Department spokeswoman reportedly said on Wednesday that this was not the case.
Reuters quotes Morgan Ortagus as telling reporters that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not made a decision on this issue.
(Source: Reuters)
By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
US grants Iraq reprieve to continue buying Iranian gas
The United States has decided to grant Iraq a third 90-day sanctions waiver so it can continue to purchase gas from its sole provider, Iran, giving Baghdad some much-needed breathing room.
On May 22 in Baghdad, Joey Hood, US chargé d’affaires in Iraq, stressed to reporters that the waivers will not continue indefinitely, so the United States is working with Iraq to reduce its dependence on Iran.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hakim said his country would stand by the Iranian nation and government in the era of US sanctions against Tehran.
Iraq stands with Iran and is willing to act as an intermediary between its neighbor and the United States, Hakim said on Saturday speaking in a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad.
He added that Baghdad does not believe an “economic blockade” by the US could be fruitful, according to Reuters.
Zarif, for his part, condemned the US sanctions and said Tehran would strongly defend itself against any military or economic aggression and called on Europe to do more to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
In May 2018, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Ever since, the EU has failed to make good on its promise to save the nuclear deal and facilitate Iran’s economic trade with the international community.
The Iranian minister also said that the Islamic Republic wanted to build balanced relations with its Persian Gulf Arab neighbors and that it had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
Washington has exempted Baghdad from some of its unilateral sanctions against Tehran, allowing Iraq to continue importing energy from Iran, according to the US envoy to Baghdad.
Baghdad can now buy energy from Iran, US charge d’affaires Joey Hood told reporters on Wednesday, Iran’s Press TV reported.
The waiver will allow Iraq to continue buying gas and electricity from Iran.
The administration of US President Donald Trump said in March it was extending a 90-day waiver for the second time to let Iraq continue energy imports from Iran.
The US envoy did not explain whether he was referring to the same waiver Washington gave Baghdad in March or he was declaring the issuance of new exemptions.
Gas imports from Iran generate as much as 45 percent of Iraq’s 14,000 megawatts of electricity consumed daily. Iran transmits another 1,000 megawatts directly, making itself an indispensable energy source for its Arab neighbor.
Iraq and Iran share a 1,400-kilometer-long border. For their run-of-the-mill maintenance, Iraqis depend on Iranian companies for many things from food to machinery, electricity, natural gas, fruits and vegetables.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
By John Lee.
Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban (pictured) has reportedly said on Thursday that Iraq has contingency plans in place to cope with any stoppage of Iranian gas imports.
His comments come as the US increases sanctions pressure on Iran.
According to Reuters, Ghadhban added that he hopes no such disruption will take place.
(Source: Reuters)