BAGHDAD, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraq Wednesday called on the international community to urge the U.S. to end its sanctions on Iran to avoid negative impacts on stability in the Middle East region.
Iraq "calls on the international community to exert pressure to discourage the U.S. administration from continuing sanctions (on Iran), as its negative economic and social reflection will be great on Iraq and the whole region," the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement.
A day earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also said his country is against such "unjust" sanctions, despite that his country will abide by the U.S. sanctions for the sake of Iraq's interests.
The United States reimposed on Tuesday the first round of economic sanctions on Iran, which had been eased under the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of it in May.
The sanctions target Iran's trade in precious metals, transactions of U.S. dollars, as well as Iran's auto sector.
The second round of U.S. sanctions will take effect in November to include a ban on Iranian oil exports and dealing 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 activities and the access of international inspectors to relevant facilities.
