Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said 8 August that Iraq does not support looming US sanctions on Iran “but we will comply with them.” But this was prior to a trip to Tehran. He then changed his tune on 13 August: “I did not say we abide by the sanctions, I said we abide by not using dollars in transactions,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Baghdad finds itself in a precarious geopolitical tug-of-war as it moves closer to Saudi Arabia and the west (MEES, 3 August), whilst maintaining ties with Iran—the biggest foreign player in Iraq, and Iraq’s third biggest trading partner. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani also expressed confusion earlier this month on the US sanctions issue, saying Erbil would consult Baghdad moving forward. (CONTINUED - 124 WORDS)