Iran Restarts Gas Exports to Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity confirmed on Sunday that Iran had resumed gas supplies to Iraq at a rate of five million cubic meters per day following the completion of maintenance work.

The spokesperson for the Electricity Ministry, Ahmed Musa, mentioned in a statement that the ministry restored producing capacity at the Besmaya and Mansouriya power plants following the restart of Iranian gas imports, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

Musa indicated that the Besmaya and Mansouriya power plants were affected by a gas shortage, according to the state-run news agency (INA).

Reports published earlier indicated that Iraq is facing a severe energy crisis due to US restrictions on gas imports from Iran.

US sanctions on Iran made Iraq face a challenge to achieve energy security, particularly in the gas sector, which is crucial for operating its power plants.

Iraq relies on gas imports from Iran to fuel its power plants. After the US waivers allowing Iraq to receive gas supplies from neighboring Iran were canceled, Baghdad attempted to get a fresh exemption from the United States amid pressure on the government to find speedy solutions to the electricity crisis.

Musa said earlier that Iraq depends heavily on gas imports from Iran to operate many power plants.