The Trump administration has let a waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran for electricity lapse, a State Department spokesperson said on Saturday, saying Washington will not allow Tehran any degree of economic or financial relief.
"The President’s maximum pressure campaign is designed to end Iran’s nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program, and stop it from supporting terrorist groups," the spokesperson said.
"We urge the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible."
Farhad Alaaeldin, the Iraqi prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, told Reuters on Sunday that the end of a US sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iranian energy "presents temporary operational challenges."
Alaaeldin said Iraq was "committed to its strategic goal of achieving energy self-sufficiency" after the US let the waiver expire as part of President Donald Trump's campaign of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.