Washington Allows Iraq to Pay for Iranian Gas through 3rd Party

People fish at the Shatt al-Arab stream in the city of Basra, southern Iraq. (AFP)
People fish at the Shatt al-Arab stream in the city of Basra, southern Iraq. (AFP)
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Washington Allows Iraq to Pay for Iranian Gas through 3rd Party

People fish at the Shatt al-Arab stream in the city of Basra, southern Iraq. (AFP)
People fish at the Shatt al-Arab stream in the city of Basra, southern Iraq. (AFP)

The United States on Tuesday moved to let Iraq pay Iran for electricity via non-Iraqi banks, a US official said, a step Washington hopes may keep Tehran from forcing unpopular power cuts during the Iraqi summer, according to Reuters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a 120-day national security waiver allowing Iraq - heavily dependent on Iranian electricity - to deposit such payments into non-Iraqi banks in third countries instead of into restricted accounts in Iraq, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US had granted previous governments since the government of Haider al-Abadi a period of 120 days to pay for its purchases from Iran, including gas, in US dollars. While Iraq continues to heavily depend on imported Iranian gas, Washington permitted Iraq to pay the Iranian debts under the governments of Adel Abdul Mahdi and Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The summer temperature and the Iranian and American procedures have worsened the condition in Iraq. Iran halted its gas supply to Iraq in the peak of heat, meanwhile, Iraqis complained about the dual US-Iranian sanction on Iraq.

Iran had halted its gas supply to Iraq because the latter didn’t pay its debts. When Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced the oil in return for the gas policy, Iran resumed gas supply that was halted for technical and not financial reasons, according to an Iranian official.

The US decision serves the interest of Iraq and Iran as well. No official approval was announced but experts and observers said that the US is likely to provide new support to the government of Sudani.

In this context, a professor of Mass Communication at the Iraqi University, Dr. Fadel Al Badrani, said Sudani has probably taken US approval before trading oil for Iranian gas to maintain electricity.

It is a temporary step to avoid a crisis, proving the US support to the government of Sudani, according to Badrani.

He added that the US exemption to Iraq for 120 days represents the support to Baghdad to overcome the electricity crisis during summer, but the condition to transfer funds to non-Iraqi banks proves that Washington sticks to its firm stance toward Tehran.

Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadel confirmed on Wednesday that the ministry has not received any official directive on allowing Iraq to pay dues for Iranian gas.

"The issue of the United States allowing Iraq to pay dues for Iranian gas for 120 days was published in the media only and we have not received anything official," Fadel told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

"There are reserved amounts belonging to the Iranian side and they are paid either with money or through oil," he added.

"If the United States gives consent to the payment of dues, it is possible to spend part of it money and the other part fuel," the minister said.



Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a "new page" in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was once a powerful armed movement and political party with sway over Lebanon's state, but it was severely weakened by Israel's bombing campaign last year. Since then, Lebanon's army commander was elected president and a new cabinet with curtailed influence for Hezbollah and its allies took power.

Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday was his first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli air strikes in September.

Araqchi told both Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi that he wanted to "turn a new page" in Iran's ties with Lebanon, according to statements by Salam and Raggi's offices.

"Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Salam's office said. Araqchi also extended a formal invitation for Salam to visit Iran.

The statement from Raggi's office said the pair had a "frank and direct discussion," including on establishing the state's monopoly on the use of arms - an apparent reference to possible negotiations on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal.

The top Iranian diplomat briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key Hezbollah ally. Unlike previous addresses by Iranian diplomats, his comments did not mention Hezbollah.

The visit followed several turbulent episodes in ties between the two countries.

Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over comments alleging that plans to disarm Hezbollah were a "conspiracy".

Last year, then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati also issued a rare rebuke of Iran for "interfering" in internal Lebanese affairs.

In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threats that it would bomb the planes.