Iraq must wean itself off economic reliance on Iran and become more energy self-sufficient, Britain’s foreign office minister for the Middle East said on Sunday, Reuters reports. Alistair Burt visited Iraq after a flurry of high-profile diplomacy in Baghdad this month that followed US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement he was pulling American troops out of Syria. US allies worry the withdrawal, even if it proceeds more slowly than initially planned, will embolden Iran, whose influence has grown in Iraq and Syria in recent years. Washington hopes to counter Iranian influence through renewed sanctions and has pressured Iraq to halt imports of Iranian gas. “To expect Iran to have no influence in Iraq is fanciful,” Burt said in an interview with … Continue reading UK: Iraq must move away from economic reliance on Iran