“We do not want Iraq to be burdened with the US sanctions on Iran,” Barham Salih, the newly-elected president, told reporters in Kuwait, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The United States said Iraq can continue to import natural gas and energy supplies from Iran for a period of 45 days, several days after reimposing sanctions on Tehran’s oil sector.
On Saturday, reports said that Iraq is preparing to export oil from Kirkuk to Turkey via the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline after halting exports to Iran, a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council said.
“The Iraqi government has halted Kirkuk oil exports to Iran and it now wants to export the oil to Turkey,” said Ahmed Askarai, head of the Kirkuk Provincial Council's energy committee.