Iran Press/ Iran News: According to Shana, Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh and Iraqi Electricity Minister Majid Mahdi Hantoush met on Saturday to solve the issue.
“Some 27 billion cubic meters of gas has been exported to Iraq up to now ... but the payment is facing problems, and we hope we could solve the issue,” said Zangeneh during the meeting, adding: "So far, 27 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas has been exported to Iraq."
The Iranian oil minister added: "There is a very strong relationship between the people and the government of Iran with Iraq, and I hope that the visit of the Iraqi Minister of Electricity to Iran will lead to the development of relations between the two countries and the Iranian oil and electricity ministries."
The Iranian oil minister also said: "Payment of Iranian gas money is facing problems that we hope to reach a solution in this regard soon."
The Iraqi Minister of Electricity also said in this meeting: "Iran-Iraq relations are good and excellent and we are trying to develop relations day by day."
The meeting came as Iraq is pressing to restore reduced gas supplies from Iran months after the National Iranian Gas Company reduced the flow to Iraq over arrears on previous payments.
Iraq’s electricity ministry is looking to restore gas supplies from Iran that were lost over arrears.
Iraq is seeking to have the supplies restored as it needs them desperately to increase electricity generation in the run-up to a hot summer in the Arab country where power demand is expected to soar to record levels.
Electricity Minister Hantoush said that Iraq was doing its best to settle the payments amid unconfirmed reports suggesting that Baghdad has obtained special waivers from the United States on sanctions that bar Iran from receiving the payments.
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