{"id":15206,"date":"2018-10-26T04:04:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T04:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/?p=15206"},"modified":"2018-10-26T04:22:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T04:22:41","slug":"iraq-to-prioritize-own-interests-as-regards-us-sanctions-on-iran-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/iraq-to-prioritize-own-interests-as-regards-us-sanctions-on-iran-pm\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq to prioritize own interests as regards US sanctions on Iran: PM"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi says Baghdad will\u00a0prioritize its own interests and independence when it comes to\u00a0implementing unilateral US\u00a0sanctions on Iran.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We want to secure Iraq from any interference in issues, affairs of other countries, whether it’s a neighboring country or it’s any other country in the world,” Abdul-Mahdi told a news conference in the capital\u00a0Thursday.<\/p>\n

Baghdad had earlier called US\u00a0sanctions on Iran “wrong and unacceptable”, pledging that it would\u00a0never accept the \u201ccruel\u201d measures. Former Iraqi premier Haider\u00a0al-Abadi had initially said that\u00a0his government would only respect the dollar ban in transactions with Iran.<\/p>\n

Abadi later called the sanctions \u201cunilateral\u201d and \u201coppressive\u201d, saying\u00a0that Iraq would not be \u201cpart of a blockade\u201d due to its own painful experience with international sanctions during the era of Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n

Iraqi officials also declared that they would ask Washington for waivers on Iran sanctions which could hit crucial supplies.<\/p>\n

Iran is a source of assorted goods ranging from food and agricultural products to home appliances and spare car parts to the neighboring Arab nation, with annual trade standing at more than $12 billion.<\/p>\n

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PressTV-Iraq eyes US waiver as leaders decry \u2018cruel\u2019 Iran sanctions<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A senior Iraqi leader says Baghdad will never accept \u201ccruel\u201d US sanctions on Iran as Baghdad plans to ask Washington for waivers to save crucial supplies from its neighbor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Islamic Republic is pushing forth with a 2025 vision plan to raise its exports to Iraq to $20 billion a year despite US pressures on Baghdad to keep Tehran at its arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Iran\u2019s business adviser at the country\u2019s embassy in Baghdad was quoted as saying that the Islamic Republic was already ahead of its plan, with non-oil exports currently standing at $4.5 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the average growth rate of 8.5% of non-oil exports and the realization of about $4.5 billion worth of these exports, we can say that we are 28% ahead of our export targets to Iraq,\u201d Nasser Behzad said.<\/p>\n

Iran is currently Iraq’s top trade partner, with annual turnover of about $12 billion, according to Iraqi officials. By comparison, annual trade between Saudi Arabia and Iraq stands below $6 billion.<\/p>\n

Foodstuff, livestock, construction material and plastic products constitute the bulk of Iran\u2019s exports to Iraq. Iranian vehicles and food items are a ubiquitous sight in Iraq.<\/p>\n

Iraq is also the biggest importer of electricity from Iran. The country was hit by a series of protests amid electricity shortages this summer.<\/p>\n

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PressTV-Iran\u2019s vision for Iraqi market on track despite US<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Iran is pushing forth with a 2025 vision plan to raise its exports to Iraq to $20 billion a year despite US pressures on Baghdad to keep Tehran at its arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Iraq eyes enhanced relations with Iran: FM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s new foreign minister, Mohamed Ali al-Hakim, told his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday that Baghdad seeks to further strengthen its good and longstanding relations with Tehran.<\/p>\n

In a phone conversation, the Iraqi top diplomat also gave assurances that Iranian pilgrims currently visiting the Arab country will be provided with necessary services during their stay in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians, along with millions of others from across the world, are flocking to Iraq to mark Arba\u2019een, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam.<\/p>\n

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PressTV-Countdown to Arba\u2019een: World\u2019s largest Islamic pilgrimage<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Millions of pilgrims from across the world are converging on the holy Iraqi city of Karbala to commemorate the Day of Arba\u2019een.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

During the phone call, Zarif described Arba\u2019een as the symbol of greatness of and respect for Ahl al-Bayt, or the Household of\u00a0Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), and unity between the two neighboring countries.<\/p>\n

He thanked the Iraqi government and nation for their warm hospitality towards Iranian pilgrims, and called on the Iraqi government to facilitate their visit.<\/p>\n

Zarif also congratulated al-Hakim on his new post\u00a0and wished him success.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi says Baghdad will\u00a0prioritize its own interests and independence when it comes to\u00a0implementing unilateral US\u00a0sanctions on Iran. “We want to secure Iraq from any interference in issues, affairs of other countries, whether it’s a neighboring country or it’s any other country in the world,” Abdul-Mahdi told a news conference in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":15217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news-and-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15218,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15206\/revisions\/15218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}