Iraq fails to convince Iran to resume power imports

Iraqi Electricity Minister Qassem Al-Fahdawi said yesterday that his country has failed to convince Iran to resume supplying Iraq with electricity.

Last Friday, Al-Fahdawi along with an Iraqi delegation arrived in Tehran where they held talks with Iranian officials to resume supplying Iraq with 1,000 megawatts of electricity, which Tehran cut off about two weeks ago due to the accumulation of debts owed by Baghdad.

Al-Fahdawi explained in a statement received by Anadolu News Agency that his ministry “has put [forward] an alternative plan to importing electricity from Iran”.

READ: Protests in Iraq leave 5 dead, 190 injured

Iraq has been importing electricity from Iran for many years after their power infrastructure was destroyed by decades of war and blockade.

According to figures released by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity in August, last year the country produces 15,700 megawatts of electricity, however it needs more than 23,000 megawatts of electricity to meet its population needs.

The power outage caused by the Iranian move contributed to fueling violent protests in the southern Iraq provinces which led to at least five people being killed and 190 wounded after security forces fired on protesters.