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Iraq
A worker operates valves in Nihran Bin Omar field north of Basra, Iraq, on January 12, 2017. File photo: Nabil al-Jurani/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United States has granted Iraq another waiver – the shortest yet- to import energy from Iran, despite ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Ahmed Musa, spokesman for Iraq’s electricity ministry, told Iraqi state media outlet INA on Friday that Iraq has been granted a 30-day waiver to continue importing Iranian gas and electricity.
“Despite no official letter being sent to Iraq’s electricity ministry from Washington regarding the recent waiver, Washington agreed to extend the waiver for Iraq to continue importing gas and electricity from Iran,” Musa said.
This is the seventh and shortest waiver Iraq has received since the US reimposed sanctions on Iran in November 2018, after Washington withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, in May 2018.
The purpose of the waivers is to give Iraq time to gradually reduce their reliance on Iranian electricity and energy imports.
Iraq has suffered from severe power shortages since the 1990s, worsened by decades of war, sanctions and terror attacks – leaving Iraqis at times with just five hours of electricity per day.
To make up for the shortage in electricity production, Iraq has been importing electricity and gas to power its electricity stations from neighbouring Iran, much to the ire of Washington.
However, Washington’s patience seems to be running out, granting a much shorter waiver of 30 days, in contrast to the usual 90 or 120.
Iraq was granted a 45-day waiver last month, on the condition it would diversify its energy sources.
However, Musa revealed that Iraq has failed to do so due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as budget cuts, leaving the US to grant Iraq a seventh waiver.
"This is the final extension," one source at the Iraqi president's office told AFP, adding that Washington is frustrated with Iranian interference in Iraq as Baghdad struggles to form a government.
In early January, the ministry announced a deal with Gulf countries to import 500 megawatts of electricity.
Musa confirmed to Rudaw English in early March that the imports will begin by October 2020.
Iraq made other deals with Western companies last year, such as Honeywell, Siemens, and General Electric in order to develop Iraq’s frail electricity infrastructure, demonstrating to Washington that Baghdad is keen to shift away from Iranian gas imports.
However, Iran still exports 1200-1500 megawatts of electricity to Iraq on a daily basis, in addition to 38 million cubic meters of natural gas to feed several of Iraq’s power stations, Sayyid Hamid Hosseini, a member of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce confirmed in September 2019.
Electricity shortages have pushed protesters to take to the streets, especially in the summer of 2018, to demand better electricity and services.
As Iraq is slowly approaching summer time, the demand for electricity in the country is rising, and it is expected that Iraq will continue importing Iranian gas, with calls for more waivers here to stay.
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