Baghdad to pay Tehran's energy debts soon, official says

Shafaq News / Chairman of the Iran-Iraq joint chamber of commerce, Yahya Al-e Eshaq, said that according to the latest agreements between the two countries, Iran will pay Iran energy debts in the coming days."

Referring to the recent visit of Iraqi Minister of Electricity Adel Karim to Tehran, Al-e Eshaq in an interview with IRNA on Saturday said that Iran and Iraq have always had good ties with each other in this field, and such cooperation is being done by the private and governmental sectors.

He added that the governmental sector exchanges are mostly in the field of energy, and Iran's governmental sector should receive $1 billion from Iraq, and according to the agreements, this energy debt to Iran will be paid by Iraq."

Al-e Eshaq added that Iran's private sector claims $9 billion dollars from Iraq, and paying this amount is also underway.

Iraqi Minister of Electricity Adel Karim on April 5, 2022, underlined that Iraq has not struck a deal with littoral states of the Persian Gulf; thus, Baghdad requires gas import from Iran for coming years.

The Iraqi minister made the remarks in a TV talk show, promising a different summer in comparison to previous summers, saying that the Ministry of Electricity makes all-out efforts to get ready for a hike in electricity consumption during this hot summer.

Karim acknowledged that creating a power grid connection with Arab littoral states of the Persian Gulf would be very costly, noting that the Iraqi government does not accept the prices proposed by these Arab countries.

(IRNA)