Iran Says It Can Help Solve Pakistan Energy Crisis With Low Price Fuel

Iran’s new ambassador to Pakistan has said Iran can help to solve Pakistan's energy crisis by supplying electricity, gas and oil at the "lowest price."

Speaking to local media in Islamabad on Saturday, Reza Amiri Moghadam, who was appointed as Iran's new ambassador in June, said that the Islamic Republic would be able to relieve Pakistan's electricity and gas shortages with cheap fuel.

His comments come three weeks after the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Pakistan and their Ministry of Energy announced that a new contract had been signed to increase electricity imports from Tehran.

During his unofficial discussions with the media, Moghadam also claimed that the gas pipeline project and Iran's gas purchase from Pakistan wouldn't be threatened by US sanctions.

Iran itself is facing severe energy shortages, but President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration has continued to increase electricity and gas exports mostly to Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

In addition to increasing gas exports, various reports indicate that Iran has resorted to extensive mazut combustion in power plants and industries to compensate for domestic gas shortages. Mazut is the most polluting fossil fuel and leads to severe air pollution.

Earlier this year, Tehran warned Islamabad that if it fails to complete its share of the gas pipeline project by March 2024, it would have to pay around $18 billion in fines. Washington opposes the construction of this pipeline and considers it a violation of US and Western sanctions against Iran.