Page 63 - IRANRptNov21

Iran reduces gas flows to Iraq
Iran ups electricity imports from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia amid heatwave outages
country can legally be used to pay for imports of authorised goods.
Iran has reduced gas flows to power stations in southern and central Iraq as the Islamic Republic struggles with domestic power and water crises. A statement from Iraq’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) said that gas supplies had fallen by 19mn cubic metres per day.
“The rates of Iranian gas being supplied to the production stations in the central regions and Baghdad have been reduced from 34mn cubic metres to 20mn cubic metres per day,” it said, adding that supplies to southern regions had dropped from 17 mcm to 12 mcm per day.
The MoE noted that the country has lost around 1,000 MW of electricity output as a result.
Iraq is understood to be generating around 19,000-21,000 MW, far short of its required level of 30,000 MW. In addition to the cross-border gas flows, Iraq imports around 1,200 MW of electricity from Iran.
Iran has increased electricity imports from neighbouring Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia amid its serious difficulties with summer power outages experienced during an ongoing heatwave, the Tehran Times reported the Iranian energy ministry as saying on July 11.
“Up to 650 megawatts of electricity is currently imported from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia,” the ministry’s spokesman for the electricity industry, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, was cited as writing on his social media account. He noted that due to infrastructure limitations and high domestic demand in the three countries, electricity beyond 650 MW could not be sourced from the neighbours.
Earlier last week, Rajabi Mashhadi said that Iran had stopped electricity exports to neighbouring countries due to the surge in domestic demand. Only 50 MW of electricity was being exported to Afghanistan as things stood, he added, noting that Iran’s power plants were only able to generate 54,000 MW of electricity, or nearly 12,000 MW less than domestic power demand.
Amid the heatwave, daily electricity consumption in Iran reached 66,250 MW (66.25 GW) on July 5, registering a new record.
The figure was 8,000 MW more than consumption recorded in the previous year’s peak period.
Severe drought mean Iran is currently able to produce only a very small amount of hydropower.
9.1.14 Defence sector news
US imposes sanctions on Iran’s IRGC drone programme citing danger to regional stability
The US on October 29 said it has imposed sanctions in relation to a drone programme operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US Treasury Department stated that the IRGC has been providing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones for use by Iran-backed groups, including Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and in crisis-hit Ethiopia. The drone programme threatened regional stability, Treasury officials said.
"Iran's proliferation of UAVs across the region threatens international peace and stability. Iran and its proxy militants have used UAVs to attack U.S. forces, our partners, and international shipping," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said, adding: "Treasury will continue to hold Iran accountable for its irresponsible and violent acts."
The sanctions target four people, including IRGC Brigadier General Saeed Aghajani, whom the US says oversees the UAV operations of the IRGC
63 IRAN Country Report November 2021 www.intellinews.com