“It is extremely deplorable that the US administration has decided to target the innocent people of Iraq by attempting to deprive them of access to basic services such as electricity, especially ahead of the coming hot months of the year,” Abbas Araghchi said on X.
On Sunday, the US rescinded a waiver that permitted Iraq to purchase electricity from Iran as part of President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran, which also aims to drive Tehran’s oil exports down to zero.
Iraq is heavily reliant on Iranian gas imports to support its electricity production. Previous waivers from Washington allowed Baghdad to bypass American sanctions on Tehran as a short-term stopgap until it is able to wean itself off of Iran for its energy needs.
“We stand with the Iraqi people and remain firm on our commitment to the Iraqi Government, which we will engage with to repel unlawful US actions,” Araghchi stressed.
After the waiver was rescinded, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani led a meeting with the oil and electricity ministries and looked into ways to increase the country’s electricity production.
Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi told Rudaw on Saturday that Baghdad had all necessary preparations in place in case the US revoked its waiver.
On Sunday, a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw that Washington is hoping that the Iraqi government will start benefiting from the natural gas capabilities of the Kurdistan Region to reduce its dependence on Iranian gas.
