The Iraqi Government holds talks with the United States Administration to address Washington’s request to close several border crossings with Iran, within a U.S. strategy aimed at tightening economic sanctions against Tehran and pressuring the countries in the region to limit their commercial exchanges.
That is what Iraq’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, has explained in an interview with the Qatar-based network Al Jazeera, in which he has warned of the “negative consequences” that this decision could bring for the Iraqi economy.
The official in charge of Iraqi diplomacy has indicated that U.S. authorities propose closing most crossings as part of their global economic pressure campaign on Iran. Although it has not been specified which crossings would be affected, Hussein has said that Washington proposes to keep one crossing operating in the Kurdistan region and another across the rest of Iraqi territory.
“Closing the border crossings will probably have an impact on Iran, but it will also negatively affect the Iraqi situation. This means that trade will stop, movement will stop, and it will have an impact,” the minister stressed, recalling Baghdad’s strong dependence on trade with its neighbor.
Hussein has detailed that the annual volume of trade between the two countries, not counting gas purchases, stands at between $16 billion and $18 billion. “Iraq depends on what comes from Iran, especially regarding the supply of food,” he emphasized.
Economic diversification to reduce dependence on Iran
In the face of this pressure, the Bagdad Executive is working on a policy of “diversification in all areas” with the aim of reducing its energy and commercial dependence on Iran. In this context, the minister has said that Iraq is negotiating to import electricity through the network of Gulf countries via Kuwait, in addition to reinforcing supplies from Jordan and Turkey.
At the same time, the Iraqi Government maintains contacts with Syria and Jordan to reactivate and expand oil pipelines that would allow new crude export routes to be opened and any potential blockades to be circumvented.
Pressure on border crossings takes place in a scenario of strong regional instability. During the interview, Hussein calculated economic losses suffered by Iraq due to the interruption of oil exports through the Strait of Ormuz for close to four months at the beginning of this year at around 60,000 million dollars (53.790 million euros), a stoppage caused by the military escalation between Iran and the United States.
Although the flow of crude oil has been partially resumed thanks to agreements that allow exports to be diverted toward Turkey, the head of Foreign Affairs has reiterated that Iraq “rejects wars” and maintains as a principle the refusal to allow its territory to be used to attack third countries.