Under a mechanism established after the occupation of Iraq, part of Iraq’s funds held in its account in the United States is transferred to Iraq every month in the form of cash dollars, the source told Tasnim News Agency.
The US government has used the mechanism as leverage on some occasions to advance its objectives in Iraq.
Notably, despite the central Iraqi government, headed by Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, accompanying the Trump administration’s decision to impose air sanctions and ban Iranian flights from Iraqi airports, including Baghdad and Najaf, the US government has continued to withhold Iraq’s funds.
Meanwhile, while Al-Zaidi was in New York meeting with Donald Trump, the Iraqi government turned to Tom Barrack, Trump’s special envoy for Iraq and Syria, seeking his intervention over the withheld funds.
Barrack subsequently sent a request to Washington regarding the matter.
However, despite the efforts of the Al-Zaidi government, Iraq has still failed to receive its funds, a development that has directly contributed to the rise in foreign exchange prices in the country.