Iraq Payment to Iran not in breach of US Sanctions
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)