A plane with 500 million dollars, stuck on the ground. The US has cut off Iraq's access to cash in the fight against pro-Iranian militias
The Trump administration has suspended the delivery of US dollars to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programs with the Iraqi military as it pressures Baghdad to dismantle Iran-backed militias operating in the country, according to Iraqi and US official sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, Reuters writes.
US Treasury Department officials recently blocked a cargo plane shipment of nearly $500 million in US bills, the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales, from accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to the WSJ.
The US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Washington has also informed Baghdad that it is suspending funding for counterterrorism and military training programs until militia attacks cease and Iraqi authorities take steps to dismantle armed groups, the WSJ also wrote.
Earlier this month, the United States summoned Iraq's ambassador after a drone struck a key US diplomatic facility in Baghdad, following a series of drone attacks that Washington attributed to Iran-aligned “terrorist militias”.
