The Biden administration last week greenlit a sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to make cash payments for electricity to Iran, American media have claimed.


non-public sanctions waiver issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and transmitted to Congress earlier this week authorizes Iraq to pay Iran for multimillion-dollar electricity debts, according to a copy of the notice, the Washington Free Beacon has claimed.

The waiver was issued a day after Biden administration officials denied Iran's claims that the United States had paved the way for Tehran to receive the $500 million, which was first reported by the Free Beacon.

The latest sanctions waiver, however, permits "the Trade Bank of Iraq to engage in financial transactions … with the Central Bank of Iran in connection with the purchase of electricity."

According to the report, it is unclear how Iran arrived at the $500 million figure, or if it is related to this most recent sanctions waiver, which does not detail specific amounts of money.

The report further claims that Iranian officials have said that they are owed around $18 billion from Iraq in back payments for electricity.

By Mehr