Iraq is $1.6 billion in arrears on its payments for imports of Iranian gas, its acting electricity minister has said, urging Washington to allow cash payments despite its sanctions on Tehran. Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, and neighbouring Iran currently supplies a third of its gas and electricity under a tightly controlled waiver from US sanctions. The restrictions, imposed when Washington reimplemented sanctions on Tehran after President Donald Trump abandoned a nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, require Iraq to pay for its …