Post Saddam Era, Iran-Iraq Boost Cooperation Despite American Sanctions

Iran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi met Iraqi politician Halbusi to boost investments in the energy sector in Baghdad. Iraq is fully dependent on Iran for gas and electricity supply but the recent US sanctions have disturbed the stability in the region.

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Iran approved an agreement to increase exports of 1,200 megawatts of electricity to Iraq. The agreement was signed by the managing director of Iran’s state-run Organization for Management of Electric Power Generation and Transmission (Tavanir), Mohammad Hassan Motevalizadeh, and the Iraqi deputy electricity minister in Tehran.

Iran is the biggest supplier of electricity to Iraq. Iraq needs approximately 23,000 megawatts of electricity to fulfil its domestic demand but years of war following the 2003 U.S. invasion have left its power infrastructure shattered leading to a deficit of some 7,000 megawatts.

The top Iraqi politician, Halbusi informed that Iran and Iraq had played an important role in promoting stability and security in the region.

Halbusi praised Iran’s key and memorable role in helping Iraq fight against terrorism and expressed hope that Tehran would continue its support for Baghdad in the restoration plan of the war-affected country. He also said the Iraqi government and parliament plays a vital role in boosting relations with Iran.

The Iranian ambassador, Masjedi emphasised saying, “the cruel U.S. sanctions had definitely created problems, but the Islamic Republic managed to make great achievements in defensive, scientific and economic sectors by relying on domestic resources”. He also praised Iraq’s stand on Washington’s unilateral sanctions against Iran.

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