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Iraq Sees Sharp Decline in Power Supply Due to Terrorism, Cut in Iranian Gas

Ministry of Electricity workers maintain the electricity transmission network in Basra, Iraq, Thursday, July. 30, 2020. (AP)
Ministry of Electricity workers maintain the electricity transmission network in Basra, Iraq, Thursday, July. 30, 2020. (AP)
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Iraq Sees Sharp Decline in Power Supply Due to Terrorism, Cut in Iranian Gas

Ministry of Electricity workers maintain the electricity transmission network in Basra, Iraq, Thursday, July. 30, 2020. (AP)
Ministry of Electricity workers maintain the electricity transmission network in Basra, Iraq, Thursday, July. 30, 2020. (AP)

Electricity supply has declined in all Iraqi provinces, sometimes reaching only two hours for every six hours of power cut. As people’s anger mounted against government authorities and the Ministry of Electricity in particular, the latter presented excuses and explained the obstacles hindering production.

A decision by Tehran at the end of 2020 to stop gas supplies for some Iraqi production plants has caused the loss of more than a third of energy production. Moreover, the recent escalation of terrorist attacks on power transmission lines further exacerbated the problem in the country.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Musa Al-Abadi, said that seven high-voltage transmission lines in Diyala, Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Anbar governorates were targeted with explosive devices over the last week, which caused a great loss in energy production.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “The recent attacks on the electricity towers isolated the northern region from the central region, causing severe damage to the processing hours for the governorates of Nineveh, Salaheddine, Kirkuk and Diyala and the decline of power system capacity by 500 to 600 megawatts.”

Despite the ministry’s continuous efforts to erect an emergency tower and restore the transmission lines between Diyala and Kirkuk, the persistent attacks cause chaos in the operation of the electrical system and negatively affect the processing hours, according to the spokesman.

Regarding the measures taken by the Ministry and the Iraqi authorities to protect the transmission lines and stop the repeated terrorist attacks, Al-Abadi said: “The Ministry informed the supervisory and executive authorities, energy committees and military units operating on the ground about the attacks, and demanded the security authorities to use drones to protect the towers and cables and to install thermal cameras.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s decision to stop supplying gas to Iraq continues to cast a dark shadow over the rates of energy production.

Al-Abadi asserted that Tehran has not resumed gas export to Iraq, despite previous pledges its minister of energy.

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Pedersen Says ‘Extremely Critical’ to Avoid Syria Being Dragged into War in Region

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
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Pedersen Says ‘Extremely Critical’ to Avoid Syria Being Dragged into War in Region

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen meets with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus on Sunday. (Syrian Foreign Ministry)

The UN special envoy for Syria said on Sunday that it was “extremely critical” to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid the country being pulled into a regional war.

“We need now to make sure that we have immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, that we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, and that we avoid Syria being dragged even further into the conflict,” said Geir Pedersen ahead of a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh in Damascus.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has not released any details about the Pedersen-Sabbagh meeting. It only issued a brief statement in which it announced the meeting.

Local sources said Pedersen's second visit to Damascus this year is aimed at exploring the possibility of resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis.

The meetings have been stalled since the eighth round on February 22, 2022, due to a dispute over the venue of the reconvening of the Constitutional Committee. Russia, which is not satisfied with Switzerland's joining Western sanctions against Moscow because of the Ukraine war, refuses to hold it in Geneva.

“Pedersen is holding talks with Syrian officials in Damascus, where he arrived last Wednesday, about the possibility of resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings,” reported Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper.

Earlier this month, Russian presidential envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev told TASS: “As you know, only one venue - Geneva - is still unacceptable for the Russian side. As for all others, we are ready to work there.”

He added: “Probably, there is an open option with Baghdad, which, regrettably, was rejected by the Syrian opposition. It refused from this venue because Baghdad is supporting Damascus. They don’t think that Iraq is a neutral venue.”

The Russian diplomat stressed that the committee’s work should be resumed as soon as possible, but, in his words, it takes a lot of effort to find a venue that would be acceptable for both Damascus and the Syrian opposition.

Israel has been conducting airstrikes in Syria against government forces, Iranian troops and Hezbollah targets since the eruption of the crisis there in 2011. Strikes have increased following the Israeli war on Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll of the Israeli airstrikes on Palmyra city on November 20 continues to increase with many people suffering from severe injuries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of three Syrians and two non-Syrian members of Iranian-backed militias, bringing the number of fatalities to 105.