Page 8 - MEOG Week 48 2021

MEOG POLITICS & SECURITY MEOG

Such demands amount to a dilemma as US programme is entirely peaceful. The JCPOA is
President Joe Biden cannot bind his successors meant to tie Iran to compliance measures to
to any present-day nuclear deal promises he guarantee that that is the case. In return, Tehran
makes. is supposed to be shielded from sanctions.
On November 30, the talks will turn to iden- Earlier on November 30, Iran hit out at the
tifying and agreeing the sanctions that would be UK for hosting in London Israel’s foreign min-
lifted with the revival of the JCPOA on the basis ister Yair Lapid on the very day that the nuclear
that they are linked to the nuclear agreement – deal talks were resuming.
rather than imposed, for instance, in relation Standing alongside the British foreign secre-
to human rights or terrorist activity issues. On tary, Liz Truss, Lapid said that Iran was “at the
December 1, talks for only one reason – to get sanctions lifted
The steps Iran would need to take to come because it needs money for its global terrorist
back into compliance with the JCPOA will be network and for its continued race towards a
discussed. nuclear weapon”.
The talks involve Iran, Russia, China, Ger- He painted a picture in which Tehran would
many, France and the UK. Iran has refused to “play for time, earn billions from lifting sanc-
include the US in face to face, but its delegation tions, deceive the world and covertly advance
in Vienna is b being provided with indirect their nuclear programme”.
access to the content of the negotiations, such Iran’s foreign ministry said: “The UK issues
as Iran’s standpoints, by nuclear deal signatories. anti-Iran statements with the Israeli regime – a
Israel, meanwhile, has warned that Iran nuclear-holder and enemy of the 2015 nuclear
would try to use the talks to gain time to further agreement. Utter lack of goodwill and an evident
advance its nuclear development programme. sign that London doesn’t seek to preserve the
The Israelis insist Iran is trying to covertly deal. You can’t have lunch with the foe of a deal
develop a nuclear weapon. They have said that and for dinner sit at another table to claim sup-
Iran is around five years from reaching the mile- port for the same deal.” Lapid is due to present
stone. Tehran denies it has any ambition to build his concerns to France’s president, Emmanuel
a nuclear bomb capability. They say their nuclear Macron, on November 30.™

Iraq to repay Iran billions of dollars

in gas debts due to sanctions

IRAQ/IRAN IRAQ stands ready to pay gas and electricity periods in unbearable heat with no electricity for
debts owed to Iran, the Iraqi electricity minis- air conditioning or fans.
try said on November 29, according to Baghdad “The ministry of electricity is ready to pay
al-Yawm news agency. back its debts to Iran based on the agreement of
Tensions have risen over the debts, which delegations that previously visited Tehran. The
some Iranian officials have described as money is a weight on our shoulders that we have
between $6bn and $7bn, with Iraq pointing to to pay to Iran,” Ahmed Musa, a spokesman for
the US freezing Iran out of the international the ministry was quoted by the news agency as
financial system as the obstacle to transferring saying by the ministry.
the required sums. There have also been local Gas imports from Iran typically generate
reports of Baghdad offering to pay Tehran in as much as 45% of Iraq’s daily consumption of
Iraqi dinar, a proposal said to have been rejected 14,000 megawatts of electricity. Iran transmits
outright by the Iranians, who stuck to their another 1,000 MW of electricity directly.
demand for remuneration in dollars. Some mon- Iran’s frustration at not being paid by Iraq for
ies that become owed for imports of Iranian gas its gas and electricity supplies is partly caused by
and electricity are paid off with bartered goods. its inability to access tens of billions of dollars of
Musa was further reported as saying that assets held in bank accounts around the world
Iran’s gas exports to Iraq were running at less because of the US sanctions lock. The sums,
than a fifth of what they should be, while elec- mainly raised from exports of oil and gas, are
tricity exports from Iran were presently com- thought to include around $7bn in South Korea
pletely cut off. During the summer, when Iran and around $1.5bn in Japan.
faced severe power shortages, there was a feeling More than $1.6bn in Iranian funds are, mean-
in Iraq that when faced by an electricity deficit, while, held by the Luxembourg-based Clear-
the Iranians were quick to stop power exports to stream clearing house, a financial company
their neighbour. Many Iraqis suffered prolonged owned by Deutsche Boerse.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 48 01•December•2021