The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced that Iran has reduced the export of gas for operating power stations in the country, while the series of destruction of power towers continues, describing the destruction process as "systematic" in conjunction with a severe heat wave of up to 50 degrees Celsius.

The ministry's spokesman, Ahmed Moussa, said that this reduction affected the rates of electricity production, and led to the loss of about 2,600 megawatts.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Iranian Electricity Management Company announced the suspension of the export of electricity to Iraq, and said that this decision comes due to the need to meet the needs of his country internally.

Tehran is demanding Baghdad to pay about $4 billion in debts owed by the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, which is prohibited from paying any dollar amounts to the Iranian side due to US sanctions.


tower wars

Simultaneously, electric power transmission towers in Iraq are falling one after another, as a result of detonating them with explosive devices, causing the power to be cut off in large areas of the country.

The General Company for Northern Electricity Transmission announced the destruction of 7 electricity transmission towers linking the governorates of Kirkuk and Salah al-Din, as a result of being targeted with explosive devices.

The company affiliated with the Ministry of Electricity said, in a statement published on its Facebook page, today, Tuesday, that an act of sabotage targeted the Kirkuk-Baiji line, in the Riyadh district, south of Kirkuk, which led to the downfall of 7 electric power transmission towers.

And she indicated in her statement, that "27 towers were bombed in the governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salah al-Din within one week."

Moussa returned to say, in an interview with the government channel, that the Ministry of Electricity is being subjected to old and recent attacks, noting that there are indiscriminate and systematic attacks targeting areas of power.

He explained that the infrastructure of the electricity sector is being severely damaged, pointing out that the attacks on the electricity transmission lines are being asked about by the military side.

Ahmed Musa: There are some systematic attacks on electricity towers and others are random.


# Ten pic.twitter.com/e8IMVadh4j

- Iraqi Media Network (@iraqmedianet) August 8, 2021

For his part, the spokesman for the joint operations, Major General Tahseen Al-Khafaji, said that more than 18 sabotage operations of electric power towers were thwarted and were targeting vital areas, indicating that they took measures that contribute to stopping this challenge, stressing the difficulty of deploying military forces on power transmission towers.

On the other hand, former member of the House of Representatives, Rahim Al-Darraji, accused political parties of targeting electric power transmission towers, stressing that the towers' bombing operations were intended, and that political officials and contractors were adopting these operations for personal gain.

The explosion of electric power transmission towers sparked angry internal reactions on social media platforms, and Iraqis demanded the restoration of electricity to the areas cut off from electricity.

"Repeating attacks on the main artery of people's lives (electricity towers) and leaving them without continuous protection raises many questions, with the presence of hundreds of thousands of security forces of all kinds, including the army, the police, and the popular mobilization," former parliament member Ahmed Al-Salmani said on his Facebook page.

The former diplomat, Abdul Muhaimin Al-Araibi, wrote on his Twitter account, "The targeting of new electricity towers feeding the city of Mosul, which mainly complains of lack of electricity and frequent interruptions, as if there is an insistence on harming Mosul and its people and preventing life from returning to normal."

He added, "It is known that Mosul did not receive any aid to rebuild what was destroyed by the war against the Islamic State, but rather was rebuilt with the help and capabilities of its sons only."

Amir Ali tweeted, "Whoever bombs electric power towers and cuts off electricity for the patient, the child, the woman, and the old sheikh, this is a crime."

Everyone who does not have morals nor religion of any religion.

Loss of humanity is the one who bombs electric power towers and cuts off electricity for the patient, the child, the woman, and the old man.

This is a crime that an atheist, an infidel, or even a cow-worshipper does not do.

How are you who claim Islam?

— ameer Ali (@ameerAl85269825) August 8, 2021