ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq will be permitted to purchase energy from Iran until the end of December, US officials have announced.
“The United States has given Iraq a temporary relief from the sanctions for 45 days to continue purchasing natural gas and electricity from Iran,” officials from the US Embassy in Iraq said in a Facebook video published on Thursday.
The United States reintroduced energy sanctions on Iran on Monday. Iraq was not among the eight countries initially announced as being exempt for 180 days.
“This relief gives Iraq time to start taking steps towards energy independence,” the video said.
The United States has released piecemeal information regarding what Baghdad is permitted to do, through the State Department in Washington, D.C., various officials, and the embassy in Iraq.
The video includes officials speaking to the Iraqi people in Arabic saying “There is a lot of misinformation out there on Iranian sanctions.”
Iran is Iraq's largest trading partner and the southern provinces heavily depend on Iranian electricity imports. Iraq as a whole has an aging electrical grid that doesn't meet the needs of its rising population.
The new sanctions were introduced after the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May, claiming it had failed to stop Iran from developing its nuclear program and from interfering in the affairs of the wider region.
The move has been widely criticized by European and other signatories of the JCPOA, who argue Iran has met all of its obligations under the nuclear deal.
“The United States has given Iraq a temporary relief from the sanctions for 45 days to continue purchasing natural gas and electricity from Iran,” officials from the US Embassy in Iraq said in a Facebook video published on Thursday.
The United States reintroduced energy sanctions on Iran on Monday. Iraq was not among the eight countries initially announced as being exempt for 180 days.
“This relief gives Iraq time to start taking steps towards energy independence,” the video said.
The United States has released piecemeal information regarding what Baghdad is permitted to do, through the State Department in Washington, D.C., various officials, and the embassy in Iraq.
The video includes officials speaking to the Iraqi people in Arabic saying “There is a lot of misinformation out there on Iranian sanctions.”
Iran is Iraq's largest trading partner and the southern provinces heavily depend on Iranian electricity imports. Iraq as a whole has an aging electrical grid that doesn't meet the needs of its rising population.
The new sanctions were introduced after the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May, claiming it had failed to stop Iran from developing its nuclear program and from interfering in the affairs of the wider region.
The move has been widely criticized by European and other signatories of the JCPOA, who argue Iran has met all of its obligations under the nuclear deal.
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