The waiver issued on July 11 permits Iraq to pay neighboring Iran for electricity imports without running afoul of US sanctions, Washington-based Al-Monitor news website quoted the US official as reported by IRNA on Wednesday night.
The spokesman on the condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor: “Since 2018, the Department has permitted Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity while Iraq develops its domestic generation capacity, continuing a practice from prior administrations,”
He added: “Under the terms of the Iraq electricity waiver, no Iranian funds have been released to Iran,” the spokesperson said. “The funds are held in restricted accounts and can only be used for humanitarian trade and other non-sanctioned transactions.”
Last week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fawad Hussein discussed his country’s reliance on US waivers for Iranian energy imports in meetings with Treasury Department officials in Washington and the issue of Iran's blocked money in Iraq and emphasized the need for a quick and fair solution to it.
Since 2018, the United States has extended waiver on Iraq to purchase electricity.
The 120-day waiver comes as Iraqis suffer from power outages and the intense summer heat is increasing air temperature to 50 degrees Celsius in some areas. Last weekend, protests over the power shortages erupted in the central Iraqi cities of Diwaniyah and Najaf.
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