U.S. Suspends Dollar Shipments, Iraqi Militias Become Focus of Tension

On April 22, The Wall Street Journal reported that several Iraqi and U.S. officials stated that the Trump administration has suspended dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation projects with the Iraqi military, thereby increasing pressure on Baghdad to disband powerful Iran-backed militias. Some officials mentioned that a shipment containing nearly $500 million in U.S. banknotes—funds derived from Iraq’s oil sales deposited in accounts at the New York Federal Reserve—was recently intercepted by Treasury officials due to U.S. concerns over these militias. U.S. and Iraqi officials noted that this is the second time since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February that the U.S. has delayed plans to deliver dollars to the Central Bank of Iraq. In the weeks prior, the militias had launched attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq and neighboring countries to show support for Tehran. U.S. and Iraqi officials stated that the U.S. has informed Baghdad that it will also suspend funding for certain counter-terrorism and military training programs until the militia attacks cease and Iraqi officials take measures to disband these armed groups.