Ali Shariati, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, stated that the United States has told Iraqi bank officials that the issue of bypassing the sanctions by Iranian traders must come to an end.
In an interview with the regime’s Entekhab website, Shariati emphasized that the circulation of Iraqi dollars in the economy and the bypassing of sanctions by “semi-governmental traders” of Iran through the transfer of Iraqi tar via swap has prompted the United States to intervene in this matter.
Shariati also commented on the new directive of the Iraqi government regarding the prohibition of financial transactions with Iran for banks and exchange offices. He stated that this event has been happening for several months now and its punitive measures have become more serious since January 1st.
Regarding the impact of restrictions on Iranian traders, this member of the Chamber of Commerce said, “Now, if you are a merchant in Dubai and you do business with Iraq, the Iraqi customer’s currency that they give you is the cheap currency of 1,320 dinars, but for Iran, since we do not have the SWIFT system, we have been excluded from this system. As a result, we cannot take advantage of the opportunity of Iraqi government dollars.”
Shariati claimed that the process of imposing restrictions on dollar transactions in Iraq involved summoning all the heads of Iraqi banks to Istanbul a few months ago, where they were told by the Americans that this issue of bypassing the sanctions needed to be resolved. The Iraqis did not take the matter seriously, and the Americans put pressure on them by “stepping dollar hose,” causing a halt. The supply shortage led to an increase in the price of the dollar in Iraq. According to this member of the Chamber of Commerce of Iran, “The dollar went from 1,440 dinars to 1,600 and even 1,700 dinars from April. The people of Iraq demanded that the issue be resolved, which led to protests.”
Shariati continued his account and said, “They have been giving Iraqi citizens government currency at airports for several months. The Iraqi government’s currency is 1,320 dinars per dollar. The government [of Iraq] encouraged traders to submit their purchase documents to the government. When approved, it goes into the allocation queue, and the customer’s payment is made within two weeks.”
On January 2, Iranian media reported on a new decision in Iraq that created an obstacle in Iran’s access to the dollar. According to these reports, the Central Bank of Iraq, with a new currency law, prohibited official exchange offices and banks in the country from any currency exchange with five countries, including Iran, in order to make it impossible for Iran’s regime to obtain dollars through legal channels in this country.
Shariati also commented on the increase in Iraqi trade with Iran, saying, “An Iraqi who wants to return a Turkish trader’s money and an Iranian trader’s money to Iran must have more money and Iranian goods are about 18% more expensive compared to goods purchased from Turkey and China. In this situation, either I, as an Iranian trader, say it doesn’t matter to me and I want dollars, or the Iraqi says I will buy goods from Turkey and pay less. As a result, Iranian traders are suffering serious losses, and our traders are offering a 15% discount to Iraqi traders. In the meantime, some people are seeking the destruction of the dollar.”
In February 2022, reports were published indicating that the United States had been restricting Iraq’s access to its dollars, which are held in the Federal Reserve Bank, for several months in order to prevent the smuggling of dollars to Iran.
At the same time, Iraqi authorities announced that the United States was trying to eliminate “rampant money laundering for the benefit of Iran and Syria.”
Experts predict that with the new currency restrictions in Iraq, the supply and distribution of foreign currency in Iran will face even more difficulties. This could further destabilize the foreign exchange market and accelerate the pace of inflation in the coming months.
