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Washington is concerned about Baghdad sinking.. Waltz tells Al-Sudani: Trump's pressure on Tehran will increase
3/9/2025
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz confirmed that pressure on Iran will increase if it continues to develop nuclear weapons capabilities and "support terrorism throughout the region," including in Iraq.
This came in a special post by Waltz on his account on the X platform, following talks he held with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Waltz expressed his concerns about the recent floods in Baghdad.
He also stressed the importance of moving towards strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries based on security and trade interests.
The US National Security Advisor noted that the decision not to renew the waiver on sanctions on Iranian electricity exports is consistent with President Trump's "maximum pressure" strategy on Iran, and that pressure on Iran will increase if Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons capabilities and support terrorism throughout the region, including in Iraq.
He welcomed "Al-Sudani's efforts to achieve energy independence for Iraq, and encouraged his government to welcome more Western and American energy companies into Iraq's oil and gas sectors."
The National Security Advisor also urged the Iraqi government to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve contract disputes and pay arrears owed to American energy companies, and also asked the Iraqi government to maintain an investment coordinator to work with American companies seeking to invest and operate in Iraq.
The National Security Advisor thanked the Prime Minister for his commitment to the U.S.-Iraq bilateral relationship and emphasized the Trump administration’s commitment to deepening energy and economic ties between the two countries to the benefit of the American and Iraqi people.
A statement from Al-Sudani's office stated that the latter and Waltz affirmed their commitment to strengthening and deepening the strategic partnership between Iraq and the United States, while Waltz indicated that "ending the exemption of electricity supplied from Iran is linked to the maximum pressure policy, which confirms the importance of bilateral coordination to avoid any potential negative effects on Iraq's stability."
The US waiver on sanctions on Iran that Iraq was granted ended on Saturday (March 8, 2025), and thus the Baghdad government will not be able to import Iranian gas needed to operate power plants across the country.
The US State Department confirmed on Sunday the end of exemptions that allowed Iraq to buy electricity from Iran, as part of the "maximum pressure" policy pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump against Tehran.
Washington stressed its refusal to provide any economic relief to Iran, noting that the goal is to end the Iranian nuclear threat, limit its missile program, and prevent its support for armed groups.
For many years, Iraq has relied on importing electricity and gas from Iran, especially during the peak of summer, and thus relies on the ongoing American exemptions, which are issued more than once each year.
In October 2024, Iraq signed an agreement with Turkmenistan to import gas in quantities of up to 20 million cubic meters per day, via the Iranian pipeline network, using the swap mechanism to facilitate transportation, but it has not yet started operating due to technical problems, as the Ministry of Electricity recently announced.
In statements made by representatives to Shafaq News Agency, the Deputy Chairman of the Electricity Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, Walid Al-Sahlani, confirmed that the interruption of Iranian gas will cause the loss of 8,000 megawatts from the country's electricity system.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, Ali Shaddad, revealed the Iraqi government’s intention to import Gulf gas instead of Iranian gas after the recent US sanctions, announcing a project that is being worked on at high speed in Basra, in the far south of the country.
