Trump administration ends Iraq's waiver to buy Iran electricity

The Trump administration on Saturday rescinded a waiver that allowed Iraq to pay Iran for electricity, as part of President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, a State Department spokesperson said, Reuters reported.

The decision to let Iraq’s waiver lapse upon its expiration “ensures we do not allow Iran any degree of economic or financial relief,” the spokesperson said, adding that Trump’s campaign on Iran aims “to end its nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program and stop it from supporting terrorist groups.”

Trump restored “maximum pressure” on Iran in one of his first measures after returning to office in January. In his first term, he pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, a multinational agreement, and imposed “unprecedented” sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The US government has said it wants to isolate Iran from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenues in order to slow Tehran’s development of a nuclear weapon.

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Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons and says its program is peaceful.

For Iraq, the end of the waiver “presents temporary operational challenges,” said Farhad Alaaeldin, foreign affairs adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.

“The government is actively working on alternatives to sustain electricity supplies and mitigate any potential disruptions,” Alaaeldin told Reuters.

“Strengthening energy security remains a national priority, and efforts to enhance domestic production, improve grid efficiency and invest in new technologies will continue at full pace.”

Despite its oil and gas wealth, Iraq has suffered from decades of electricity shortages because of war, corruption and mismanagement and has become heavily reliant on imported Iranian gas as well as electricity imported directly from Iran to meet its electricity needs.

Power outages are common, especially in the scorching summer months. Many Iraqis have to rely on diesel generators or suffer through temperatures that exceed 50 degrees Celsius.

Washington has imposed a range of sanctions on Tehran allegedly over its nuclear program, effectively banning countries that do business with Iran from doing business with the US.

“President Trump has been clear that the Iranian Regime must cease its ambitions for a nuclear weapon or face Maximum Pressure,” said National Security spokesperson James Hewitt. “We hope the regime will put the interests of its people and the region ahead of its destabilising policies.”

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