This did not violate US and EU sanctions' but we are surprised!

 FLC

[FT] "Iraq is quietly shipping vital supplies of fuel oil to Syria in a deal that has triggered concern in Washington ....Nouri al-Maliki’s Baghdad government agreed in June to supply 720,000 tons of fuel oil to Syria in monthly shipments as part of a one-year, renewable supply contract, according to commercial documents seen by the Financial Times.The revelations come a month after US officials complained publicly that Baghdad was allowing aircraft carrying Iranian arms to fly over its territory en route to Syria. A state department official said the fuel shipment did not violate US and EU sanctions but he indicated surprise at Iraq’s involvement..... “ 

Perceptions matter, so we encourage countries trading with Syria to be open about their legal and non-sanctionable exchanges,” a US state department official said. “If this is going to continue, we think the Iraqis should be up front about it.”...... 

Iraq offered Syria a discount of 50 per cent below the market price, plus a $5 discount per metric ton, according to the contract. Syria paid $505.909 per ton for the fuel, compared with today’s market price of $800 per ton...."