BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Monday that his government would not abide by any other U.S. sanctions on Iran except the U.S. dollar ban in transactions.
"I did not say we abide by the U.S. sanctions against Iran. Iraq's decision with respect to Iran is not to deal (with Iran) in U.S. dollar," Abadi told a press conference after his weekly cabinet meeting.
Abadi's comment came a week after he pledged that Iraq will follow the U.S. sanctions on Iran for the sake of protecting Iraq's interests.
"We will abide by them to protect the interests of our people," Abadi said, citing that non-compliance with the U.S. sanctions will harm Iraq's interests.
On Aug. 7, the United States reimposed the first round of economic sanctions on Iran, which had been eased under the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, months after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the deal in May.
The sanctions target Iran's trade in precious metals, transactions in U.S. dollar, as well as Iran's auto sector.
The second round of sanctions will take effect in November, which will include a ban on Iranian oil exports and business with Iran's central bank.
Under the 2015 deal, the United States agreed to lift the crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for a halt to Iran's controversial nuclear program and the access of international inspectors to relevant facilities.
