Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Abbudi said that Iran and the United States are putting pressure on Iraq’s economy by not granting exemptions that would allow oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Asharq Al-Awsat reported this, citing a televised interview with the official.
According to al-Abbudi, Iraq’s economy is under pressure due to the lack of a response from Tehran and Washington regarding such exemptions. He also criticized the government of former Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, saying that the 2023 decision to change the exchange rate from 1,470 to 1,320 dinars per dollar caused losses of nearly 36 trillion Iraqi dinars to the state treasury.
Dispute over the dinar exchange rate
The current government faced criticism after its decision to devalue the dinar to 1,520 per dollar, announced last Tuesday. The official rate is 1,520 dinars per dollar, while the parallel market rate is 1,630 dinars. According to the publication, this gap contributed to higher prices for essential goods, including food.
Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law coalition, urged citizens not to use the change in the dollar exchange rate as a reason to spread concern. Despite government measures to contain prices, including additional dollar sales on the market and offers of building materials in installments, prices remained high.
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Challenge to the government decision
Saud al-Saadi, head of the Huquq parliamentary bloc, filed a complaint with the Federal Supreme Court challenging Cabinet Resolution No. 544 on the dollar-to-Iraqi-dinar exchange rate. According to him, the court accepted the petition and is to set a hearing date later.
Separately, al-Abbudi said that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi rejected intervention by security forces or the use of police measures to regulate the currency market. This came after an audio recording circulated in which an employee of the Interior Ministry’s complaints line confirmed the possibility of filing a complaint against exchange companies selling dollars at the parallel rate.
The Security Media Cell and the Ministry of Defense said that the employee’s response did not reflect government policy. The Interior Ministry called it a personal action by an employee who was not authorized to comment on currency matters and said that legal measures had been taken against him.
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