Iran says it owes Iraq $5-7 billion in energy sector debt

The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce says that Iran's energy sector's debts to Iraq are five to seven billion dollars.

According to Yahya Al-Ishaq, Iran and Iraq have a current account, the export of energy, including gas, to Iraq continues, and the money for this export is continuously received in various forms.

The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce added in an interview with Tasnim News Agency that Iran's demand from Iraq is not fixed and changes daily, but this demand is on average between five and seven billion dollars.

According to him, the volume of trade between Iran and Iraq has been around eight billion dollars as of last month. The private sector collects its debts from Iraq through exchange offices or other channels.

Yahya Al-Ishaq's words come while Hamid Hosseini, a member of the Board of Directors of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, announced on Saturday that Iran's daily gas export to Iraq has decreased from 52 million cubic meters to 8 million cubic meters.

According to agreements between Baghdad and Tehran signed in 2013 and 2015, Iran must increase gas exports to Iraq to a maximum of 70 million cubic meters during peak seasons.

Earlier this week, in a meeting with the Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Iraj Masjedi, Iran's ambassador to Baghdad, rejected the Iraqi side's request to increase gas and electricity exports, in accordance with the bilateral agreement.

After withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran's oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors.

Source: Voice of America