ZCZC
BCN-29
IRAQ-IRAN-TURKEY-DIPLOMACY-ECONOMY
Iraq PM cancels visit to sanctions-hit Iran
BAGHDAD, Aug 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has
cancelled a visit to Iran, his press office said Sunday, days after Baghdad
announced it would comply with US sanctions against Tehran.
Abadi will still go ahead with a planned visit to Turkey on Tuesday but has
scrapped the Iran leg of the trip “because of his busy schedule”, the office
told AFP.
The previous day an Iraqi official who did not want to be named had said
Abadi would also visit neighbours Turkey and Iran to discuss economic issues.
According to Iraqi political sources who spoke on condition of anonymity,
Iran initially agreed to the visit but changed its mind because it was
unhappy about Abadi’s remarks.
The premier said last Tuesday that Iraq — which relies on neighbouring
Iran as a source of cheap imports — would reluctantly comply with US
sanctions against Tehran that took effect the same day.
It came after US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015
nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
“We don’t support the sanctions because they are a strategic error, but we
will comply with them,” said Abadi, whose country is an ally of both Tehran
and Washington.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, asked about a possible visit by
Abadi, said that he had “so far not received any official news or information
whatsoever about this trip,” the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
BSS/AFP/SR/1900 HRS