Date: Aug 13, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Abadi cancels visit to Iran after sanctions decision BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has canceled a visit to Iran, his press office said Sunday. The news came days after Baghdad announced it would comply with U.S. sanctions against Tehran. Abadi will still go ahead with a planned visit to Turkey Tuesday, but has scrapped the Iran leg of the trip “because of his busy schedule,” the office told AFP. The previous day, an Iraqi official who did not want to be identified had said Abadi would also visit neighbors Turkey and Iran to discuss economic issues. According to Iraqi political sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Iran initially agreed to the visit but changed its mind because it was unhappy about Abadi’s remarks. The premier said last Tuesday that Iraq – which relies on neighboring Iran as a source of cheap imports – would reluctantly comply with U.S. sanctions against Tehran that took effect the same day. Iraq also buys Iranian-generated electricity in efforts to deal with chronic power cuts, which have been a key factor in sparking mass protests in recent weeks. The decision came after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative in Baghdad lashed out Sunday at Abadi as the Tehran visit was called off. “These irresponsible remarks have already been condemned by many people. It’s a disloyal attitude toward the honest position of Iran and the blood of the martyrs this country has spilled to defend the land of Iraq” against militants, Moujtaba al-Hussein said. “We are saddened by this position which shows he has been defeated psychologically in the face of the Americans,” he added. Abadi’s visit to Ankara is also overshadowed by a bitter row between NATO allies Turkey and the U.S. Trump said Friday he was doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey as part of an ongoing row over the detention of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson and other issues. Meanwhile, the U.S. urged Britain to ditch its support for a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and instead join forces with Washington to counter the global threat it says Tehran poses. Britain, France and Germany have sought to keep the deal alive while Trump has prepared new sanctions, saying a broader and more balanced deal is needed. Iran has denounced the sanctions as “U.S. unilateralism.” U.S. Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson criticized Tehran for funding “proxy wars and malign activities” instead of investing in its economy. He said Iran needed to make tangible and sustained changes to behave like a normal country. “Until then, America is turning up the pressure and we want the U.K. by our side,” Johnson wrote in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. “It is time to move on from the flawed 2015 deal. We are asking global Britain to use its considerable diplomatic power and influence and join us as we lead a concerted global effort toward a genuinely comprehensive agreement.” Asked about Johnson’s article, the British foreign office pointed to comments from Middle East Minister Alistair Burt, who last week ruled out Britain going along with the U.S. Burt said the deal was an important part of regional security and that, with the European Union, the government was trying to protect British companies from the U.S. sanctions when dealing with Iran. Britain remained open to talks with the U.S. on how to address concerns about Iran.