TEHRAN – Bassem Awadi, the spokesman for the Iraqi government, has lauded the strong relations between Iran and Iraq, describing the U.S. sanctions on Iran as “unjust.”

“The sanctions imposed on Iran are unjust and not international,” Awadi said in an interview with the Jadeh Iran news website. 

The spokesman was speaking about the recent deal between Tehran and Baghdad regarding the payment of Iraq’s debt to Iran. 

Iran and Iraq have reached a barter deal under which Iraq continues to import Iranian gas and pays off its debts to Iran in the form of oil shipments rather than money. 

“This decision is a sovereign one related to Iraq, and it does not violate international resolutions, agreements, or specific sanctions. Iraq imports the equivalent of 40% of the gas needed to operate electricity production plants from Iran. He has previous waivers related to the purchase of Iranian gas. These matters became more complicated during the last stages,” Awadi said. 

He continued, “This is a barter, not a dollar sale, and there is nothing new about it.”

The spokesman also said the relations between Tehran and Baghdad are strong.