ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s electricity minister on Saturday said energy deals signed during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visits to Washington and Tehran and interconnection projects with regional countries will increase electricity production rates “in the coming period.”

Following a meeting with the parliamentary electricity and energy committee, Minister Ali Saadi Wahib said they discussed energy deals with US companies, Iranian gas imports, completing electricity interconnection projects with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey, and the reason for their delays.

“The meeting included discussions on the outcomes of the Minister of Electricity's visit to the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly regarding the energy sector and gas imports,” the parliament said in a statement carried by state media.

Zaidi arrived in Tehran on Thursday for an official visit at the invitation of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He was received by a senior Iranian delegation before holding separate meetings with Pezeshkian and Araghchi.

Iraq has long relied on Iranian gas imports to supply the national grid.

The visit came just four days after Zaidi returned to Baghdad from Washington after concluding a five-day visit to the US, where he met with senior US officials, including President Donald Trump, and oversaw the signing of numerous agreements.

Mohammed al-Shammari, an Iraqi lawmaker, told state media on Saturday that the legislature fully supports the electricity ministry’s plans to address the country’s energy crisis.

“The plans prepared by the ministry to improve the electricity situation are promising and good,” Shammari said. “If the agreements concluded with the American and Iranian sides are implemented, these plans will contribute - tangibly - to saving citizens and overcoming the energy crisis.”

Baghdad has long maneuvered a diplomatic tightrope between Tehran and Washington – the two foreign powers with the most influence in Iraq – and has struggled to maintain balanced relations with the arch-rivals.

The deals signed with Washington and Tehran also come amid renewed strikes between the warring parties, as both sides trade blame for violating a ceasefire set for ending hostilities and returning to negotiations.