America threatens Iraq to breach its sanctions against Iran

2018/8/15 10:57

America

[Ayna-Follow]
The US State Department threatened the Iraqi government if it refused to comply with US sanctions against Iran, saying that violators of the sanctions regime could themselves be subject to sanctions.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Noyert commented on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's comments on continued tradewith Iran, saying that violators of the sanctions regime could themselves be subject to sanctions.
"You know our warnings about Iran and trade with them, and we will continue to prosecute countries for any breach of the sanctions we impose [against Iran]," Nuerte told a news conference last night.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Monday that Baghdad partially takes into account US sanctions against Iran and refuses to use the dollar in its dealings with Tehran.
Last Thursday, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBE) notified commercial banks of a ban on dollar transactions with Iranian lenders under US sanctions. At the same time, the Central Bank of Iraq has not stopped using the euro in dealing with Iran, which, he says, depends on the requirements of the ECB and correspondent banks.
The United States has since last week imposed large-scale sanctions on Iran, which it had suspended earlier, after a comprehensive joint action plan on Iran's nuclear program was reached in 2015.
US President Donald Trump announced in early May Washington's withdrawal from the agreement With Iran on its nuclear program, and later decided to reinstate all sanctions imposed on Tehran, including secondary sanctions, that affect other countries dealing with Iran.
Iraq annually purchases goods from neighboring Iran for up to $ 6.6 billion.
In addition to foodstuffs, Iran supplies cars and spare parts to the Iraqi market, as well as household appliances.
Every year, two to three million Iranians visit Iraq, an important source of foreign currency entering the country.
The United States describes Iraq as one of its key allies in the Middle East. After its invasion in 2003, it provided some weapons and trained security forces to fight the terrorist.

alliraqnews.com