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US extends Iraq’s sanctions waiver for four month

August 5, 2021 at 1:29 pm

US President Joe Biden in the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC [Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images]

The administration of US President Joe Biden has extended the exemption period granted to Iraq from sanctions related to dealing with Iran for a period of four months, an Iraqi official said yesterday.

AFP quoted an unnamed Iraqi official as saying that under the new exception, Iraq will be able to continue importing electricity and gas from Iran for an additional four months, ending in early December.

The four months exemption period is the longest period allowed by US law.

Iraq relies heavily on Iran in the field of energy, as it imports a third of its consumer needs of gas and electricity from Tehran.

Iraq currently produces 16,000 megawatts of electricity, which is much less than its estimated need of 24,000 megawatts, and up to 30,000 in summer.

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