Iraq is Iran’s last route for smuggled dollars, Iraqi MP says
Iraq has become Iran’s only remaining route for obtaining smuggled US dollars following intensified American economic pressure on Tehran, an Iraqi lawmaker told Iran International.
“Dollar smuggling from Iraq to Iran or any other destination is continuing,” said Sherwan Doberndani, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s security and defense committee.
Doberndani said Washington stopped dollar transfers to Baghdad about a month ago, contributing to the dollar’s rise against the Iraqi dinar.
The United States is cutting off Iran’s access to the global financial system, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said earlier this month, through its Operation Economic Outcast which has already led to sanctions against banks in Turkey, the UAE and Russia.
The Iraqi lawmaker warned that Iraq could face sweeping US sanctions, potentially extending to its oil sector, if Baghdad failed to bring armed groups outside state control under government authority.
The warnings come ahead of the planned September 30 withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq, with efforts to disarm Iran-aligned forces yet to produce an agreement.