Tehran to Use Sulaymaniyah to Escape US Sanctions

Tehran to Use Sulaymaniyah to Escape US Sanctions
The Islamic Republic of Iran has reportedly devised a plan to escape the US economic sanctions, and the province of Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan Region is among the cities Tehran wants to use to bridge to the outside world.

The second phase of the sanctions, which are put into effect on Monday, would mainly target Iran’s oil industry. According to the new restrictions, no countries are allowed to permit the flow of US dollars — as the dominant international currency — into Iran. This has resulted in Iranian Rial’s loss of value.



Hardawan Naqshbandi, a professor of economy at the university of Salahaddin, told BasNews that Iran might resort to illegal methods and non-official paths in order to take in dollars into the country.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, however, is enjoying a heavy hegemony in Iraq, and reportedly planning to use its allies to escape the crippling sanctions. Since the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is among Tehran’s allies in the region and it is practically ruling Sulaymaniyah, they are expected to cooperate in this matter.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative to Iran, Nazim Dabbagh, said earlier that Kurdistan Region should help Iran in the hard times.

Dabbagh, who is from the PUK and mainly representing his party’s policies not KRG’s, told BasNews that Iran previously assisted the people of Kurdistan during war and peace, therefore, it must be paid off.

Furthermore, the currency market in Iran is already connected to the market in Sulaymaniyah as dollar is traded in Tehran on different rates, one is referred to as “the Sulaymaniyah Dollar”.