Iran exploits Iraqi oilfields to evade US sanctions
Thursday 17/January/2019 - 01:41 PM
Mahmoud Mohammadi
On November 4, 2018, the US started
imposing sanctions on Iran's regime, which is in tough economic circumstances
as Tehran refuses to drop its nuclear plans. The US sanctions cover a wide
range of economic, financial and industrial sectors, particularly the oil sector.
Oil exports are Iran’s main resource of hard currency. US President Donald Trump said: “We urge all nations to take such steps to make clear that the Iranian regime faces a choice: either change its threatening, destabilizing behavior and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation”.
The US withdrew from an international nuclear deal with Iran signed in 2015 in Lausanne. The signatories included permanent members of the Security Council in addition to Germany. Washington considered the deal insufficient to prevent Iran from getting nuclear arms. The deal abolished sanctions on Iran conditioned that Tehran opens its nuclear facilities for inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency; for inspection.
The US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal has weakened Tehran’s role in the region and has cast a shadow on its economy, which funded militias in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Researcher Mohamed Alaa Eldin, an expert on Iranian affairs, said lower prices of oil affect Iran.
"The Arab Gulf efforts that urged the US president to cancel the nuclear deal have been fruitful. It is a step to change Tehran’s regime,” Alaa Eldin told THE REFERENCE.
Meanwhile, Iran is boosting ties with Iraq. Iran's ambassador to Iraq has said in a televised statement that Tehran seeks to increase trade with Iraq to $ 20 billion annually.
In the same vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is visiting Baghdad to sign oil and trade deals with Iraq.
Iraqis are concerned that such cooperation with Iran will benefit Tehran to destabilize the region.
