Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has cancelled his visit to Iran following the re-imposition of sanctions by the United States government on the Islamic Republic, Radio Free Europe reported Sunday.

Abadi on August 7 said he did not agree with the renewed U.S. sanctions, but clarified that he would abide by them to protect Iraq’s interests and shield the country from retaliatory actions by Washington.

“Can I, the prime minister of Iraq, endanger the interests of Iraqis just to take a stand?” Abadi asked. “We consider them a strategic mistake and incorrect, but we will abide by them to protect the interests of our people,” he stated.

The U.S. administration last week announced crippling new sanctions on Iran – putting pressure on the regime and penalizing foreign companies that do business with the Islamic Republic. Under the sanctions regime, foreign banks and companies will be forced to choose between America’s $19 trillion financial system or Iran’s $400 billion economy.

“The United States is fully committed to enforcing all of our sanctions, and we will work closely with nations conducting business with Iran to ensure complete compliance. Individuals or entities that fail to wind down activities with Iran risk severe consequences,” the President Donald Trump said in a statement on August 6.

Iraq is the second-largest importer of Iranian non-oil products, buying some $6 billion worth of goods from the Islamic Republic in 2017. Iraq also purchases Iranian-generated electricity to deal with the chronic power shortage that have sparked mass protests in recent weeks.

An Iranian government official on Sunday tried to play down the effect of the sanctions and said Abadi’s visit to Iran had been cancelled by Tehran. A spokesman for Abadi, however, said the Prime Minister would still go ahead with a visit to Turkey on August 14, and that his visit to Iran had been cancelled because of other commitments.

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