Mullahs’ regime exploits Iraq to escape dilemma of zeroing oil exports
Saturday 27/April/2019 - 01:12 PM
Shaima Hafezy
Press reports warn of violation of Baghdad US sanctions against Iran
Concerns about internal chaos in Iraq allow Daesh for reunion
Iran has sought to play the Iraqi card to escape the decision to zero American exports of oil, at a time when Tehran uses Baghdad as a platform for the disposal of its oil to sanctions. This coincides with an Iraqi need for Iranian gas to operate power plants and provide basic commodities. This was warned by specialists who said that not solving this dilemma soon and with international assistance will contribute to igniting unrest inside Iraq, which increases the chances of the return of Daesh for resettlement there again.
US President Donald Trump has decided to tighten the screws on Iran's mullahs' regime by reaching zero points for oil exports, but this may threaten Iraq, which is trying to "recover" from the impact of the war on the Daesh terrorist organization.
The White House said on Monday (April 22nd) that Trump had decided to end the exemptions under which eight countries were allowed to buy Iranian oil, including Iraq, and that whoever violates the resolution, as of May 2, would be subject to US sanctions.
The exempted countries are Iran, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece. These are the top importers of Iranian oil. Iraq hoped to extend its exemption from the resolution, but that did not happen.
The United States re-imposed sanctions in November 2018 on Iranian oil exports, after President Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement concluded in 2015 between Tehran and six world powers.
Although Trump said in remarks following his announcement that oil producers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Opec members would compensate oil demand after excluding Tehran's exports, Iraq said it was indispensable to deal with Tehran.
The Ministry of Electricity said in a statement that the shipments of gas from Iran will increase in June, considering that Baghdad "does not have a substitute filling the place of Tehran gas," at a time that Iraq currently imports Iranian gas shipments per month, up to 28 million cubic meters.
"Iraq has no alternative to importing Iranian gas," the ministry spokesman said, noting that the suspension of imports (due to US sanctions) would "deprive Iraq of 4,000 megawatts of electricity."
Iraq's electricity minister said last year that Iraq would rely on Iranian gas to generate electricity for at least seven years before it could produce natural gas on its own.
The gas imported by Iraq from Iran will account for about 20 percent of the actual production of electricity in Iraq.
According to statements by officials of the Central Bank of Iraq in August, to Agence France-24, Iraq's economy is very linked to Iran, and does not stand the economic relationship between the two countries on these goods. Baghdad depends on its neighbor in almost everything, according to a report published by the newspaper "Politico" .
The report said that if Iraq is not exempted from US sanctions on Iran, Baghdad will have no choice but to violate US sanctions for several reasons, including that Iraq needs Iran's refined gas, suffering from the destruction of infrastructure. This deliberately destroyed agricultural land, oil pipelines and fields, and polluted water
At a time when the international coalition is trying to confront Daesh to besiege the tails of the organization after a defeat in the last pockets in the Syrian village of Al-Bagouz, the implementation of the US decision - in the absence of a quick alternative - threatens an internal chaos in Iraq that provides an opportunity for the organization to re-annex its ranks again.
In addition to the lack of electricity and goods that could cause humanitarian crises, the presence of a large Shiite community in Iraq may cause political crises, according to political analyst Essam al-Faily, in a press statement. He indicated that this unrest will open the way for Daesh remnants to rearrange its ranks once again in the valleys and mountains of Iraq.
A security report published by the US Department of Defense on its official website, in December 2018 said that the power of Daesh, which spread from Syria to Iraq, has now deteriorated, to the extent that the remnants hide in the caves, deep valleys and tunnels in the desert.
According to a report entitled "The Second State Rejuvenation of Daesh", the number of fighters available to organize an insurgency in Iraq and Syria is about 30,000. It is also estimated that the organization has fled up to $400 million from Iraq and invested throughout the region, while kidnappings, extortion and drug trafficking continue inside Syria and Iraq.
"While environmental issues are not made up on their own, there is a very clear relationship between regulation and livelihood crises," said Peter Schwarzstein, an environmental correspondent and non-resident fellow at the Center for Climate and Security.
Ahmad Meddul al-Garia, a deputy for the province of Nineveh, warned of the return of the Daesh organization and the repetition of the scenario of 2014. He also revealed that there are areas in Mosul which are completely free of security, and said in a letter to the Iraqi President that the situation of western areas of the province, "Nineveh" is not good.
