ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq -  Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aaraghchi late Monday slammed a most recent decision by the US administration to rescind a sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Tehran as “extremely deplorable."

 

“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,” Araghchi wrote on X late Monday. 

 

Araghchi says that Tehran stands with “the Iraqi people and remain firm on our commitment to the Iraqi Government.”

 

He added that they will engage with the Iraqi government to “repel unlawful actions.” 

 

The US on Saturday did not renew a sanctions waiver for Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity. The move is defined by Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign “designed to end Iran’s nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program, and stop it from supporting terrorist groups.”

 

“We urge the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible and welcome the Iraqi Prime Minister’s commitment to achieve energy independence,” a US State Department spokesperson told The New Region on Sunday. “Iran is an unreliable energy supplier.  It is unable to meet its own domestic demand, let alone export. “

 

The State Department spokesperson added that a complete transition by Iraq would provide opportunities for US companies “which are world-leading experts in increasing the productivity of power plants, improving electricity grids, and developing electricity interconnections with reliable partners.”

 

The New Region understands that Iraq imports around 500 Megawatts of electricity from Iran, mainly in Diyala province, an amount that does not make up a large amount of the country’s power grid.

 

According to the State Department spokesperson, “In 2023, electricity imports from Iran were only four percent of electricity consumption in Iraq.”

 

However, Iraq does import gas from Tehran to fuel its power stations.

 

Iranian gas supplies account for between 30 to 40 percent of Iraq’s energy needs. These imports are especially crucial during the summer months when temperatures can reach 50°C and energy demand peaks.