WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has signed a new national security waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran for electricity. This is the first time such payments can go to non-Iraqi banks, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity.
The 120-day national security waiver aims to prevent Iran from pressuring Iraq for access to the funds. Previously, the money could only be deposited into restricted accounts within Iraq.
Tehran has been urging Baghdad to secure U.S. permission to release the funds. Iran’s reduction of natural gas exports to Iraq has limited Iraq’s power generation, leading to unpopular electricity cuts amid the hot summer.
Due to U.S. sanctions, payments made by Iraq for Iranian electricity were only allowed to be released from restricted Iraq accounts with U.S. permission. These funds were specifically for Iran to purchase humanitarian goods.
Under the new waiver, Iraq can deposit payments for Iranian electricity into restricted accounts at banks located outside of Iraq. However, U.S. permission is still required for Iran to access these funds, and they can only be used for humanitarian purposes.
The U.S. hopes that the new waiver will ease Iranian pressure on Iraq to gain access to the money. This essentially transfers the pressure from Iraqi authorities to the nations where the third-party banks are situated.
“We have to assist the Iraqis in dealing with continuous pressure from the Iranians to access the money,” said the U.S. official. The expansion of the waiver was carried out at Baghdad’s request.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
