ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s electricity ministry on Tuesday announced the “complete suspension” of gas imports from neighboring Iran, with Baghdad having long relied on Tehran for gas supplies. 

“The Ministry of Electricity reports a loss of between 4,000 and 4,500 megawatts from the power grid,” it said in a statement carried by state media, after announcing a “complete suspension of Iranian gas supplies.”

Baghdad will resort to using “locally produced alternative fuels,” a step taken in joint coordination between the oil and electricity ministries, “to supply power plants and maintain production under control,” according to the statement.  

Iranian gas supplies previously accounted for between 30 and 40 percent of Iraq’s energy needs, with Baghdad coming under heavy pressure from Washington to diversify its gas imports.

In early November, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s office announced that Baghdad had declared self-sufficiency in the production of oil derivatives. The premier directed the oil ministry to halt their imports. 

The breakthrough came after expedited efforts by Baghdad over the past three years to make the country self-sufficient in oil derivatives.

In March 2024, Sudani said that the cessation of imports of oil derivatives would save Iraq $3.2 billion annually.