“We hope to see all of Iraq benefit from the natural gas resources and electricity generation capabilities in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR). This is an opportunity to enhance intra-Iraq relations,” a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw.
On Sunday, the US rescinded a waiver that permitted Iraq to purchase electricity from Iran as part of President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran, which also aims to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.
“U.S. companies are ready and interested in helping the [Iraqi] government expand natural gas production in the IKR,” the State Department added. It further called on Baghdad to “eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible.”
“Iran is an unreliable energy supplier. It is unable to meet its own domestic demand, let alone export,” the spokesperson stressed, adding that Tehran’s electricity exports to Baghdad “do not contribute substantially” to power availability in Iraq as they make up “only four percent of electricity consumption in Iraq.”
Iraq is heavily dependent on gas imports from Iran to prop up its production of electricity, with Washington’s waivers having helped Baghdad bypass existing US sanctions on Tehran as a short-term stopgap until Iraq is able to wean itself off of Iran for its energy needs.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order to restore the maximum pressure campaign on Iran and tasked the US Secretary of State “to modify or rescind existing sanctions waivers” that provide Tehran economic or financial relief, including the waiver for Iraq to import natural energy from Iran.
“The President’s maximum pressure campaign is designed to end Iran’s nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program, and stop it from supporting terrorist groups,” the State Department explained.
On Saturday, Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi told Rudaw that Baghdad had all necessary preparations in place in case Washington did not renew the waiver.
