BAGHDAD, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's Electricity Ministry said on Wednesday that Iran's gas shipments to Iraq have ceased entirely, resulting in a loss of more than 3,000 megawatts (MW) from the national power grid amid heightened regional tensions.
In a statement, the ministry said that Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani, who is also the acting electricity minister, has directed increased coordination with the oil ministry to compensate for the shortfall.
Meanwhile, the Electricity Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Musa clarified in an interview with the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that Iranian gas flows to Iraq have completely stopped, noting that "the loss of 3,100 MW will certainly affect the system."
The disruption follows reports from Israeli media earlier Wednesday that the Israeli air force struck a major natural gas facility in Iran's southern city of Bushehr.
Iraq, long plagued by chronic power shortages due to decades of conflict, remains heavily reliant on Iranian gas to fuel its power grid. Meanwhile, the government is pursuing projects to capture associated gas, aiming to achieve energy self-sufficiency.
The halt in energy supplies comes amid heightened regional tensions following the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran that began on Feb. 28, which has repeatedly disrupted energy infrastructure and transit routes across the Middle East.
