Baghdad Aug 8 (IANS) Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said Iraq will abide by the US sanctions on Iran for the sake of protecting Iraq s interest.

Abadi told a press conference on Tuesday that Iraq however in principle is against such "unjust" sanctions Xinhua news agency reported.

"It is a matter of principle that we are against blockade and sanctions (against Iran) which will only destroy societies and won t weaken regimes " Abadi said.

"We are not sympathetic with the US sanctions against Iran but we will abide by them to protect the interest of our people " he added citing that non-compliance with the US sanctions will harm Iraqi interest.

On Tuesday the US re-imposed the first round of economic sanctions on Iran eased under the 2015 landmark nuclear deal as result of US President Donald Trump s decision to pull out of the deal in May.

The sanctions target Iran s trade in precious metals transactions of US dollars as well as Iran s auto sector. The second round of US 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 US agreed to lift the crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran s agreement to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow international inspectors access to its facilities.

--IANS pgh/