Iraq’s parliamentary finance committee says natural gas imports remain ‘outside’ US sanctions

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s parliamentary finance committee said Sunday that the country’s natural gas imports remain “outside the scope” of U.S. sanctions, according to committee chairman Atwan Al-Atwani. His comments followed a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Daniel Rubinstein to discuss energy security and financial restrictions.

“The import of natural gas is still outside the scope of U.S. sanctions,” Al-Atwani said, citing assurances from Rubinstein. He added that the talks focused on the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iraq’s energy and banking sectors, as well as Baghdad’s efforts to achieve energy independence.

Al-Atwani warned that halting gas imports would severely disrupt the national power grid, particularly during summer months. While Iraq has domestic gas development projects underway, he emphasized that “these initiatives will take years to complete,” calling on the United States to ease financial restrictions to avoid economic instability.

On Saturday, Washington declined to extend a sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to purchase electricity from Iran, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Baghdad said. Despite its considerable oil and gas reserves, Iraq relies on imports for a significant portion of its energy, with Iran supplying nearly one-third of the country’s gas and electricity.

In late November, Iran halted gas exports to Iraq for 15 days, and that suspension has been extended without public explanation. The disruption has caused a loss of between 8,000 and 8,600 megawatts from Iraq’s electricity grid, impacting power generation across Baghdad and other regions in central and southern Iraq.