A senior Iraqi official has warned the United States that any move by Washington to restrict the supply of natural gas from Iran to Iraq would cause a collapse to the Arab country’s electrical grid.

Chairman of the Iraqi parliament’s finance committee Atwan Al-Atwani said on Sunday that he had told the top US envoy in Baghdad that Iraq would face economic instability if Washington decides to rescind a waiver that allows Iraq to import natural gas from Iran.

The statement by Atwani came hours after the US announced it had revoked a waiver from its Iran sanctions that allowed Iraq to import electricity from its eastern neighbor.

The announcement has been viewed by experts as insignificant as Iraq relies on direct imports of electricity from Iran for only 4% of its total power demand.

However, the move has come amid US President Donald Trump’s efforts to restore his 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.

In his meeting with Daniel Rubinstein, who serves as US chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, Atwani said that Iraq would have no alternative to Iranian gas supplies to run power plants during the hot summer months when demand for electricity peaks in many parts of the Arab country.   

“Without Iranian gas, Iraq’s power infrastructure would face severe strain, especially in the summer, as no immediate alternatives are available,” he told Rubinstein.

His statement reiterated that Iraq’s import of natural gas from Iran is still outside the scope of US sanctions.

The meeting between Atwani and Rubinstein came as the US waiver allowing Iraq to import gas from Iran nears its expiration.

Iraq relies on Iran for nearly a third of its electricity demand as several key electricity stations that power the capital Baghdad and areas in the center and south of the country mostly use natural gas imported from Iran.  

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