Iraq agrees to extend fuel supply deal with Lebanon for another year: Mikati

BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Thursday that Iraq has agreed to extend a deal that supplies Electricité du Liban with fuel “for a period of one year, under the same conditions that were previously followed.”

Here’s what we know:

    • In July 2021, Lebanon signed a deal with Iraq to receive Iraqi oil— via a complicated arrangement under which Lebanon could exchange the incoming Iraqi heavy fuel, which is not suited to run power plants, for other fuel from third parties that could be used in the plants. The 2021 deal was slated to last one year to help Lebanon cope with its electricity crisis. In return, Lebanon would provide Iraq with unspecified “services.”

    • Mikati added Thursday that “relations between Lebanon and Iraq will remain solid as they were historically, and cooperation between the two countries will continue in the spirit of brotherhood.”