Baghdad: Iran will use money from its energy exports to Iraq to buy coronavirus vaccines from Europe, Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said.
He made the statement following a visit to Baghdad after Iran reduced natural gas supplies to Iraq over unpaid bills, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Iraq has so far cleared $700 million of its debt for electricity and natural gas imports from Iran, the state-run Young Journalists Club reported, citing Ardakanian.
Iran said it would “urgently resume gas flows, which had been slashed recently after technical problems,” Iraq’s state-run newspaper Al-Sabah reported Wednesday after the meetings.
On Monday, the National Iranian Gas Co. said it was owed $5 billion for gas supplies to Iraq and an additional $1 billion in penalties. Iran will also use the money to buy essential goods, Ardakanian said. – Bloomberg
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