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From Middle East Monitor, under a Creative Commons licence. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday signed a new national security waiver letting Iraq pay Iran for electricity that, for the first time, allows such payments to go to accounts at non-Iraqi banks, a US official told Reuters.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US hoped the 120-day national security waiver would help stop Iran pressuring Iraq for access to the money, which previously could only be deposited into restricted accounts in Iraq.

Tehran has pushed Baghdad to secure US permission to release the funds by cutting Iranian natural gas exports to Iraq, limiting Iraq's ability to generate power and forcing unpopular electricity cuts during Iraq's sweltering summer.

Under US sanctions, Iraqi payments for Iranian electricity can only be released from the restricted accounts in Iraq - with US permission - for Iran to buy humanitarian goods.

The new waiver will allow Iraq to deposit its payments for Iranian electricity into restricted accounts at banks outside Iraq. For Iran to access those funds still requires US permission and they can only be spent for humanitarian purposes.

The US official said Washington hoped the new waiver would ease Iranian pressure on Iraq to access the money, in effect by transferring this pressure from Iraqi authorities to the nations where the third-party banks are located.

"We have to help the Iraqis with this perennial pressure from the Iranians to access the money," said the US official, saying Washington had expanded the waiver at Baghdad's request.

By Noam Raydan for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq's Power Problem (Part 1): Persistent Financial and Technical Challenges

Diversifying Iraq's energy supplies won't mean much if its power infrastructure is not rehabilitated, and the skewed cost-revenue ratio at the Ministry of Electricity is unsustainable.

Click here to read the full report.

From Middle East Monitor, under a Creative Commons licence. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq is in the grip of a severe water shortage which has left crop growers and food producers, such as Iraqi fish farmer, Qasem Karam, facing the loss of their livelihoods, Reuters reports.

Walking over dusty land in the sweltering midday heat in the southern province of Basra, Karam points to his dried up carp ponds, once irrigated by the Shatt Al-Arab River.

"Everything is full of salt now because of water scarcity and pollution," he said, pointing at white patches of salt crust nearby.

"These ponds cost us a lot of time, money and effort. We had an economic plan, but it is all destroyed."

Upstream damming in Turkiye and Iran has hit water flows on the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates which form the Shatt Al-Arab river, plus dumping of waste-water and poor rainfall due to climate change have led to a drastic reduction in fish farming, experts and officials said.

Lower water levels have also increased evaporation and made the water more saline.

Karam and three other fish farmers Reuters spoke with said the loss of suitable water was driving them out of a once thriving and profitable business.

According to an official at Basra's agriculture directorate, Abbas Dakheel, only four authorised fish farms continued to work this year, as opposed to 15 in 2020.

"This water is green, dirty and polluted. No fish can live in this water," said Karam, kneeling down next to a pipe irrigating his pond.

He said that his fish were now either sick, failing to grow or dead, as a result.

Jumaa Shia, head of Basra's Directorate of Water Resources, said the city of 1.3 million needs to share its decreasing water resources among domestic users, agriculture, the oil industry and electricity generation.

To save water, authorities have taken measures, including closing down some 95 unauthorised fish farms in Basra.

By John Lee.

In an effort to address the electricity crisis and overcome financing and sanctions-related challenges, Iraq and Iran signed an agreement on Tuesday in Baghdad, involving the exchange of Iranian-imported gas for Iraqi oil.

Representing the Iraqi side, Mr. Ihsan Yaseen Al-Awadi, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, signed the agreement, while Mr. Mohammed Kazem Al-Sadiq, the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq, signed on behalf of the Iranian side.

The agreement was reached after several days of negotiations involving technical and expert committees from both countries.

It is part of the government's efforts to address the gas supply crisis for power stations, overcome financing issues, and navigate the complexities of US sanctions that have hindered the payment for gas imports from Iran. It is expected to provide greater flexibility in gas supply, power station operations, and stabilize electricity production.

In addition to this, the Ministry of Oil has been authorized to contract with gas-producting companies in the Kurdistan region to supply a number of power stations.

(Sources: Media Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Oil)

By John Lee.

The US President has welcomed the finalization of Iraq's Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) with French firm TotalEnergies.

In a statement, the White House said the project is a major step towards energy self-sufficiency and meeting its climate goals.

Full statement from the White House:

We welcome the finalization of Iraq's unprecedented Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) with French firm TotalEnergies.

Formally signed this week, this massive deal, which will include participation from regional and American companies, is a major step towards both establishing Iraq's energy self-sufficiency and meeting its climate goals. Once the project is complete, Iraqis will benefit from increased domestic supply of electricity and reduced health problems associated with the harmful practice of gas flaring.

The United States fully supports Iraq's ongoing efforts to enhance domestic resilience, and diversify its energy supply, including through broader integration into the Middle East region. This energy and gas capture project, together with the ongoing programs to connect Iraq's electricity grid to the grids in the GCC and Jordan, will significantly enhance Iraq's energy security and the reliability of its electricity network for the benefit of the Iraqi people.

We will continue to work closely with Prime Minister Sudani and the Government of Iraq to help ensure Iraq's abundant natural resources benefit its people and address their needs.

(Source: White House)

From Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

No Problems in Way of Financial Exchanges between Iran, Iraq: Official

There are no problems in the way of financial exchanges between Iran and Iraq, an Iranian official said.

Chairman of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-e Es'hagh made the remarks in a meeting held on Monday with the participation of Iran's commercial envoy to Iraq and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He termed the opportunity for trade and economic relations between Iran and Iraq "strategic' and said their interests will serve the people of the two countries.

Achieving $20 billion worth of trade is possible between the two countries in the next few years, he said, adding that the current value of trade between Iran and Iraq has crossed $10 billion.

Al-e Es'hagh also highlighted the key role of the private sector and said that Iran's private sector could reach up to $10 and $11 billion worth of bilateral trade with Iraq, in fields other than exporting gas, electricity and technical-engineering services.

From Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

An Iranian official confirmed that the Iraqi government has released all of Tehran's frozen assets, amounting to $10 billion worth of energy debts.

The funds have been deposited into an account at the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) and will be utilized for the purchase of goods that are not subject to US sanctions, Chairman of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-e Es'haq  announced on Monday.

Consequently, Iraq is no longer hindered in settling its debt arrears or conducting financial transactions with Iran, he noted.

The outstanding $10 billion debt owed by the Iraqi government was primarily for imports of natural gas and electricity, Al-e Es'haq explained.

The funds had been blocked as a result of US banking sanctions on Iran. Washington has previously issued several waivers to Baghdad, enabling it to release the funds.

Highlighting Iran's significant regional standing, Al-e Es'haq affirmed Tehran's commitment to capitalizing on trade opportunities with neighboring Iraq.

He said Iran and Iraq have the potential to double their trade volume to $20 billion in the coming years, up from its current level of just over $10 billion.

Furthermore, the chairman emphasized the pivotal role that the private sector could play in achieving $10-$11 billion in bilateral trade with Iraq, covering various fields other than gas exports, electricity, and technical-engineering services.

By Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim, for The Washington Post. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

A building boom fueled by corruption is changing the face of Baghdad

Twenty years after an American-led invasion plunged Iraq into conflict, a real estate boom is changing the face of this historic capital city, as construction workers demolish old brick houses and clear yards lined with palm trees to build smaller units that can be sold for astronomical rates.

A house without running water or government electricity on the western bank of the Tigris can fetch at least $2,300 per square meter. In Mansour, to the north, the rates can reach six times that figure.

Click here to read the full article.

By John Lee.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller (pictured) has explained the background to Iraq's payment of its debt to Iran, despite the sanctions that are in place with regard to Iran.

At a press briefing, he was asked:

"Iraqi electricity ministry, they told the state media that Iraq has paid off all the debts for gas imports from Iran, which - about 11 trillion Iraqi dinar.  How do you give Iraq a green light to pay all of this money to Iran?  And were there any negotiation or a mini-deal between the U.S. and Iran to this matter?"

Mr Miller responded:

"I will just say there has been no change in our policy towards Iran or Iraq.  The Biden Administration continues to implement all U.S. sanctions on Iran.  Since 2018 the Department of State has provided a number of waivers - you've heard me speak to these in the past - in consultation with Congress that allow Iraq to pay for electricity imports from Iran, by transferring funds into a restricted account in Iraq. 

"Consistent with U.S. sanctions, these funds can only be accessed for humanitarian and other non-sanctionable transactions.  The money only goes to approved third parties.  They are not transferred to Iran directly, and we the United States continue to approve transactions for the use of funds on a case-by-case basis."

(Source: US State Department)

By Sardar Aziz for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

How China dominated Iraq's solar energy market

As Iraq continues to struggle to provide electricity to its people, cheap Chinese technology is helping the country, as well as the Kurdistan region, move toward renewables while deepening Beijing's reach in the Middle East.

Click here to read the full article.