Washington restarts dollar shipments to Baghdad

Shafaq News- Baghdad

The United States has resumed some air shipments of US dollars to Iraq, months after suspending them to pressure Baghdad to distance itself from Tehran, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing two aides to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.

Government spokesperson Haider Al-Aboudi told the newspaper that "the problem has been resolved," while Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi's financial adviser, Mudhar Mohammed Salih, confirmed the transfers had restarted.

The Trump administration halted the shipments in April, withholding the country's own funds generated from oil sales. The decision coincided with negotiations over Iraq's new government, as Washington opposed candidates it considered close to Tehran and pressed Baghdad to bring Iran-linked armed groups under tighter state control.

Iraqi officials disclosed at the time that the US had suspended cooperation with and financial support for Iraq's security services. The restrictions remain in place, according to another Iraqi official cited by the newspaper.

Baghdad and Washington had previously agreed on banking rules requiring greater transparency in transfers from Iraq's foreign currency reserves held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, aiming to curb illicit dollar flows to criminal networks, money laundering, and financing for militant groups in neighboring countries, including Iran.

Read more: Iraq's oil revenues under US financial guard 23 years after invasion

The US did not oppose Al-Zaidi's appointment after he took office in late April. He subsequently ordered all armed groups to come under state authority, and his government later set September 30 as the deadline for surrendering unlicensed weapons under its ministerial program, which seeks to establish the state's monopoly over arms through designated committees.

The development comes ahead of the PM's expected official visit to Washington in mid-July. An informed source told Shafaq News that Al-Zaidi plans to discuss the release of one of the Iraqi financial guarantees held in the United States, estimated at about $30 billion, alongside economic and investment issues. The trip will be followed by visits to several countries, including Iran.

Read more: Iraq PM al-Zaidi to Washington with energy deals front, “militia file” unresolved