A airplane carrying almost $500m in US banknotes from Iraq’s oil revenues was blocked by the US Treasury, in accordance with The Wall Road Journal.
Revealed On 22 Apr 2026
The US has halted shipments of US {dollars} to Iraq and paused some safety cooperation programmes with the Iraqi navy, rising stress on Baghdad to curb highly effective Iran-aligned teams, in accordance with Iraqi and US officers cited by The Wall Road Journal.
The report mentioned a latest cargo airplane cargo carrying almost $500m in US banknotes was blocked by the US Division of the Treasury. The cash got here from Iraqi oil revenues held in accounts on the Federal Reserve Financial institution of New York.
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The suspended switch was the second scheduled greenback cargo to Iraq’s central financial institution delayed by Washington for the reason that US-Israel conflict on Iran started in late February.
The transfer comes as Washington pushes Baghdad to maneuver nearer to the US and loosen longstanding ties with Iran through the almost eight-week conflict.
It follows assaults claimed by Iran-aligned teams inside Iraq, concentrating on US navy amenities and neighbouring international locations in what they described as help for Tehran.
The US has additionally carried out air assaults in opposition to armed factions in Iraq aligned with Iran, together with teams linked to the Fashionable Mobilisation Forces (PMF) – an umbrella physique of factions formally integrated into Iraq’s state safety equipment.
In a press release on Tuesday, Iraq’s central financial institution didn’t refer on to the halted deliveries, however mentioned it had enough US foreign money reserves.
Iraq conflict legacy
Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Washington took management over the administration of Iraq’s oil revenues by inserting tens of billions of {dollars} in proceeds on the Federal Reserve Financial institution of New York.
Though the association was introduced as a technique to stabilise Iraq’s economic system, critics mentioned it gave the US monumental leverage over a rustic it had simply occupied, permitting Washington to affect Iraq’s monetary system and entry to its personal oil wealth.
Giant shipments of money had been then despatched again to Baghdad annually to maintain the economic system functioning, reinforcing Iraq’s dependence on US-controlled monetary channels.
US officers advised The Wall Road Journal the suspension of shipments was short-term, however didn’t specify what steps Iraq would want to take for deliveries to renew.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in workplace since 2022, has sought US help for a second time period, whereas additionally avoiding confrontation with the Iran-backed armed teams in Iraq.
