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

[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...."