For years, Iran -- together with its long-term sponsors China and Russia -- has been increasing pressure on neighbouring Iraq to remove the remaining powers from its semi-autonomous northern region and subsume it as a regular governorate into a single unified country, firmly rooted in Beijing and Moscow’s sphere of influence. The reason for this was underscored exclusively to OilPrice.com by a senior energy source who works closely with Iran’s Petroleum Ministry: “By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq, the end of Western…