Sudani adviser denies US halted dollar shipments to Iraq

BAGHDAD — A senior adviser to Prime Minister al-Sudani denied Monday that the United States had halted dollar shipments to Iraq pending the formation of a new government, calling reports to that effect “inaccurate.”

“[The reports of] stopping dollar shipments from America to Iraq until the formation of the government is not correct, and we categorically deny all that has been circulated in the media in this regard,” Hussein Allawi told Al-Hadath TV, adding that financial and security relations with Washington “are ongoing.”

He said dollar funds are “sovereign Iraqi funds belonging to the people” protected under decisions by President Trump and previous administrations, and warned against “financial rumors” aimed at destabilizing the local market.

Earlier Monday, media reports and sources said the United States had halted dollar shipments and linked their resumption to government formation, and had suspended security coordination meetings pending identification of those responsible for attacks on the U.S. Embassy and a logistics base at Baghdad airport.

Iraq’s oil revenues are denominated in U.S. dollars and deposited at the Federal Reserve — an arrangement dating to the 2003 invasion — making dollar inflows central to state finances, with oil accounting for around 90 percent of government revenue. The denial comes as the Coordination Framework meets Monday to decide its prime ministerial candidate, with the Dawa Party insisting Nouri al-Maliki’s nomination stands while other factions push for current Prime Minister Sudani as an alternative.