The United States has issued regular waivers since 2018 so that Iraq can meet its short-term energy needs without running afoul of US sanctions, American website Al-Monitor reported.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein discussed his country’s reliance on US waivers for Iranian energy imports in meetings with Treasury Department officials in Washington last week.
The 120-day waiver, which was renewed on July 11, comes as Iraqis suffer from power outages that are especially common in the sweltering summer months when temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) and the demand for air conditioning puts additional strain on the country’s dilapidated electricity grid. Last weekend, protests over the power shortages erupted in the central Iraqi cities of Diwaniyah and Najaf.
MNA