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US President Donald Trump’s administration has halted US dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programmes with its military, as it presses Baghdad to dismantle Iranian-backed militias operating in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 21, citing Iraqi and US officials.
US Treasury Department officials recently blocked a delivery of nearly US$500 million (S$636 million) in US banknotes – the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales – from accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Journal said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington has also informed Baghdad it is suspending funding for some counter-terrorism and military training programmes until militia attacks end and Iraqi authorities take steps to dismantle armed groups, the report added.
The United States earlier in April summoned Iraq’s ambassador after a drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Baghdad, following a series of drone attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran-aligned “terrorist militias”. REUTERS