Iran and Iraq signed deals late last year on joint projects, including a 160-megawatt, $150 million power plant and refinery project in Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood, by the Iranian Saneer Co. Iran is also to build a power plant between Karbala and Najaf, two of Shiite Islam's holiest areas.

Karim Wahid Hassan, Iraq's electricity minister, wants Iran to boost investment in Iraq's energy sector, the Islamic Republic News Agency reports.

A spokesman for the ministry said a project to send Iranian electricity to Iraq is nearly complete.

But the ministry has also warned companies that have agreed to projects to begin them soon. The Al Fateh newspaper reports spokesman Aziz Sultan says the firms have been given a deadline. He also named the firms, which include Saneer, as well as Shanghai Heavy Industry, which was awarded a $940 million power plant, with a 1,300-megawatt capacity, to be built in Wassit province.