Few in Iraq’s oil capital, Basra, look forward to the fetid humidity of summer, when temperatures can soar to 55C. But for Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraqi prime minister, the coming months will be especially nerve-racking, as his government races to prevent a repeat of protests over electricity blackouts that brought Basra to its knees last year. But to do this, he requires the help of neighboring Iran.
The head of electricity production for the area that includes Basra said he had a “guarantee from the Iranian side” that there would be no repeat of 2018, when Tehran turned off the 400MW power line to southern Iraq, worsening rolling blackouts that sparked unrest. That promise, along with two new electricity units supplied by US company General Electric, makes him “optimistic” that this summer will be better than last. Basra’s energy reliance on Iran epitomizes Iraq’s awkward dependence on a neighbor with which it has long had a volatile relationship, including a bitter eight-year war in the 1980s.
Iran and Iraq have forged close ties in the years since the dictator Saddam Hussein was ousted in the 2003 US-led invasion. But the ramping up of economic sanctions on Iran under US president Donald Trump is aimed at weakening those ties.
Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, used a brief visit to Baghdad last week to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran. The US “stood ready to continue to ensure that Iraq was a sovereign, independent nation,” Mr. Pompeo warned, referring to what American officials said was Iran’s escalating activity in Iraq, without giving further details.