diff --git a/git/remote.py b/git/remote.py
index 121294607..4a8a5ee9e 100644
--- a/git/remote.py
+++ b/git/remote.py
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ def exists(self):
     def iter_items(cls, repo):
         """:return: Iterator yielding Remote objects of the given repository"""
         for section in repo.config_reader("repository").sections():
-            if not section.startswith('remote'):
+            if not section.startswith('remote '):
                 continue
             lbound = section.find('"')
             rbound = section.rfind('"')