“The US administration, including the president, foreign ministry and its embassy in Baghdad, has pressured Iraq” to darken ties with Iran, al-Siraj told the Arabic-language service of Al-Jazeera news channel on Wednesday.

He added that Washington has cautioned Baghdad that it would help Iraq to come out of the current crisis only if Baghdad darkens ties with Tehran.

“Washington wants Baghdad to show hostile behavior towards Iran, while the Iraqis do not consider the Iranians as their enemy and certainly do not want any side to interfere in their affairs,” al-Siraj said.

He also blasted the American officials for treating Iraq as a US colony by trafficking in the country without any permission and coordination with the government.

Iran and Iraq have forged close and brotherly relations in the past few years after Iraqi dictator Saddam was toppled.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Sa’ad Javad Qandil underlined close and unbreakable relations between his country and Iran.

“Iran and Iraq are two countries in one front,” Qandil said, addressing a ceremony in the Northern city of Qazvin.

He warned of the Western states’ attempts to weaken the regional states, and said, “Economic insecurity is one of the weapons used by the US against Iran and other countries of the region.”

Qandil also said that the foreign states are after the disintegration of Syria politically, militarily and geographically through engineered chaos and sowing differences among different bodies in the country.

Also, in June, Iraqi President Barham Salih, in a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi, reiterated his country’s high regard for bilateral ties with Tehran, describing the ties as broad and deep.

During the with Masjedi in Baghdad, Salih said that Iran is a Muslim country and a great neighbor to Iraq, adding the two neighbors share a border of 1,400 kilometers.

The Iraqi President also described Iran-Iraq relations as extensive and deep, adding that “the stability and security of Iran, Iraq and other countries in the region are intertwined.”

“The situation in Iraq and its way dealing with the current crises in the region are a result of the Iraqi national and independent decision and its transparent policy of preventing the escalation of tensions and crises with the aim of strengthening the stability and security of the countries of the region, including Iraq itself,” he added

Salih went on to say that “in the current situation, we have a historic responsibility to work to reduce the tensions in the region and prevent the escalation of tensions that threatens the stability of regional countries”.

“Iran has signed a 3-year-long cooperation agreement with Iraq to help the country’s power industry in different aspects. The documents state at its end that we will export electricity to Iraq as far as they need,” Ardakanian told FNA on Monday.

The contract to “export Iran’s electricity” to Iraq will be extended, he added.

Ardakanian also said that Iran and Iraq’s power grids have become synchronized since a month ago.

In 2004 Iran started selling electricity to Iraq. Iran’s electricity exports to the western neighbor are at their highest level of 1,361 megawatts per day now.

The new Amarah-Karkheh 400-KV transmission line stretching over 73 kilometers, is now synchronized to provide electricity to both countries. It also paves the way for increasing export to power-hungry Iraq in the near future.

With the synchronization of the two grids, the quality of electricity in Iraq will improve.

According to official data, 82% of Iraq’s electricity is generated by thermal power plants that use gas as feedstock. This is expected to reach 84% by 2027.

Iraq is one of the major importers of electricity from Iran. The Arab country is a strategic market for all Iranian industries including the energy sector and according to agreements reached between the two countries’ energy ministries, the two sides are going to execute joint projects in the electricity sector over three years (or three stages) of 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Tehran Times has contributed to the story.

Salehi said on Thursday that both sides enjoy longstanding Iran-Iraq relations and the enemies are unable to break the strong bonds.

He added that over three million Iranian pilgrims took part in Arbaeen rally in Iraq this year, noting that the ceremony was indicative of the strong religious affinities between the two nations.

The enemies are seeking to divide the Muslim countries while friendship among them is deep-rooted and unbreakable, Salehi underscored.

In relevant remarks last month, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei reassured that the bonds between Iran and Iraq were so strong and deep-rooted that the conspiracies of enemies would be unable to undermine these ties.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Iranian and Iraqi nations are connected through faith and that an enemy plot seeking to sow discord between the two will fail.

“Iran and Iraq are two nations whose hearts and souls are tied together through faith in God, love for Imam Hussein and the progeny of the Prophet (PBUH). This bond will grow stronger day by day,” the Supreme Leader’s official Twitter account cited Ayatollah Khamenei as saying.

“Enemies seek to sow discord but they’ve failed and their conspiracy won’t be effective,” the tweet added.