Iran’s Minister of Oil Mohsen Paknejad announced plans to travel to Iraq in the coming days, stating his country has established “strong relations and cooperation with Iraq across various sectors, particularly in the oil industry and joint oil project implementation.”
In an interview with SHANA, Paknejad said that he will visit the neighboring country at the invitation of its oil minister, Hayyan Abdul Ghani, adding, “Previous collaborative frameworks between the two countries have already been discussed.”
The oil minister expressed hope “to finalize and sign memorandums of understanding in the energy sector during this trip.”
Paknejad previously met with Ziad Ali Fadel, Iraq’s minister of electricity, in March 2024 at Iran’s Ministry of Oil. Both sides stressed the need to expand cooperation in oil, gas, petrochemicals, and electricity.
Iraq relies on direct electricity imports from Iran for 4-10% of its domestic demand for power while natural gas imported from Iran is responsible for some 43% of the electricity generation in the Arab country’s power plants.
The United States announced in early March that it had revoked a waiver from its Iran sanctions that allowed Iraq to pay for electricity imports from its eastern neighbor.
The move was in line with US President Donald Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran which seeks to force the country into political and military concessions by piling pressure on its energy sales.
Paknejad has consistently advocated for strengthening Iran’s international energy partnerships, particularly with neighboring nations, under a globally oriented strategy.