A deal first proposed in 2023 would have seen Turkmenistan export gas to Iraq through Iran, which lies between the two countries. Under the swap deal, Iran would receive the gas and supply it to Iraq, but this risked violating US sanctions on Tehran - requiring Washington's approval. Reuters spoke to four Iraqi officials and reviewed seven official documents to reveal how Baghdad had sought Washington's approval for months to let it import roughly 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Turkmen gas via Iran. Iraq sought to import 5.025 bcm of Turkmen gas a year, facilitated via Iran's state-owned National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), according to a draft contract of the swap deal seen by Reuters. Baghdad hoped to diversify its supply and avoid the risk of breaching sanctions with the Turkmen deal, sources said and documents showed.