The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions today on Afaq Dubai, an Iraq-based money services business (MSB) that has been moving money for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Today’s designation follows action taken by the Department of Defense—announced on October 11—against a key ISIS financial […]
By Laura Rozen for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Concerned that tensions between Iran and the United States could blow back onto Iraq, a senior Iraqi diplomat said today that Iraq would be willing to facilitate dialogue between […]
Iraq is negotiating with the U.S. for exemptions from the impending snap-back of sanctions against Iran, arguing that it could not cut consumption of Iranian electricity and natural gas immediately without suffering serious economic harm and social instability. An Iraqi delegation was in Washington last week seeking a waiver for its cross-border trade, meeting with […]
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. US sanctions have made it too expensive for Iranian Shia Muslims to travel to Iraq to mark Ashoura. Ashoura is a day of remembrance, commemorating the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of […]
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's religious tourism suffers from US sanctions on Iran US economic sanctions on Iran are stemming the flow of religious tourists to neighboring Iraq, even as the Muslim holy month […]
By Fazel Hawramy for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi Kurds throw lifeline to Iranian Kurds as sanctions begin to bite As Washington tightens the screws on Iran with crippling sanctions to bring the ayatollahs to their knees, […]
By Salam Zidane for Al Monitor. Any views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iranian economy has spiraled out of control since a new set of US-enforced sanctions against trade with Iran went into force Aug. 7, as its currency value has been plummeting ever since while inflation rates are […]
By Ahmed Tabaqchali. Originally published by Iraq in Context; re-published by Iraq Business News with permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Current analysis of renewed Iran sanctions often overlooks the wider context of Iraq's regional trading relations. The extent of Iraq’s compliance with […]
By John Lee. A former under-secretary at Iraq’s Ministry of Finance has said that ministry has said that US sanctions on Iran will impact trade activity between Iraq and Iran and, should they persist, they will damage Iraq’s economy. Fadhil Nabi told Rudaw: “America’s sanctions on Iran will have impact on trade exchange and activity […]
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Two pro-Iranian militias active in Iraq and Syria declared that possible US sanctions targeting them would be ineffective and claimed that such sanctions would actually strengthen their presence and expansion in the Middle East. The US […]
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Governor and a senior official of the Central Bank of Iran, an Iraq-based bank and its chairman, and a key Hizballah official, all of whom have moved millions of dollars on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force […]
By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The conflict between the United States and Iran has taken a new turn toward escalation against the Iranian-backed armed Shiite factions in Iraq. But this step might harm Washington’s […]
