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Intel: Iraq bank set to halt Iran gas transfers as US sanctions waiver expires

The Trade Bank of Iraq is expected to stop processing payments to Iran if US sanction exemptions expire next month.
A general view of Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, is pictured from Iraqi side of Shatt al-Arab in Al-Faw south of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani - RC156ACB6840

The Trade Bank of Iraq is expected to stop processing payments to Iran if US sanction exemptions expire next month, Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday. The bank is used by Iraq to pay for Iranian gas imports that are used to power the country’s electricity grids. About a third of Iraq’s electricity supply relies on Iran.

“We’ll stop. As simple as that,” the head of the bank, Faisal al-Haimus, told the news agency, adding that the bank will not pay for or deal with any Iranian entity over gas or electricity.

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