Under the new system, Peshmerga personnel will access their monthly salaries directly through ATMs rather than collecting payments through traditional bank distribution channels.
🇮🇶 KURDISTAN ACCELERATES ITS FINANCIAL TRANSFORMATION 💳🏧
📰 NEWS SUMMARY
The Ministry of Peshmerga is moving to a direct bank-based salary payment system. More than 99% of Peshmerga personnel are already registered with MyAccount and will receive their salaries directly into their bank accounts, with access through ATMs.
🔎 ANALYSIS
This represents an important step toward greater banking adoption and digitalization of public-sector payments in Kurdistan.
💵 The system reduces reliance on cash and allows salaries to be deposited directly into individual bank accounts.
🏦 MyAccount is also part of a broader transition toward a more digital and traceable financial system.
🇮🇶 What makes this interesting is that the process is taking place within Iraq’s financial system, with participation from banks authorized by the Central Bank of Iraq.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: This does NOT mean a revaluation of the dinar, removal of zeros, or a change in the official exchange rate.
📌 However, it does show that Iraq’s financial infrastructure continues moving toward greater digitalization and banking integration.
👀 The next question is how far this modernization will expand across the rest of Iraq.
MNT Goat’s latest newsletter provides a detailed update on the current status of theIraqi dinar RV/Reinstatement.
She begins by saying that the news this period is lighter, but she considers itVERY importantto the Iraqi dinar investment. Her main focus is on the resistance of Iranian-backed factions inside Iraq, the September 30 disarmament deadline, U.S. pressure, the Oil & Gas Law, and the expected timeline for removing the zeros from Iraq’s large-denomination notes.
⚔️ 1. THE DISARMAMENT OF IRAQI MILITIAS & FACTIONS
MNT Goat says the biggest topic continues to be the resistance ofIranian-backed factions inside Iraqto the disarmament process.
According to her, Washington and Iraqi citizens want these weapons placed under the control of the Iraqi state.
🇺🇸 She says Washington has made its position clear:there will be no bargaining on this issue.
The factions are reportedly using the disarmament issue to demand that:
➡️ U.S. forces leave Iraq.
➡️ Iranian forces leave Iraq.
➡️ Iraq regain what the factions describe asfull sovereignty.
According to MNT Goat, this issue is one of the major obstacles that must be resolved before the reinstatement.
🪖 2. TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS ARE INVOLVED
MNT Goat explains that there are essentiallytwo piecesto the disarmament issue.
🔹The militias/factions
She describes these as Iranian-linked forces that entered Iraq in 2014 under Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to fight ISIS.
According to MNT Goat, after ISIS was defeated, these forces remained in Iraq.
She believes their original participation in the fight against ISIS became a reason for them to remain in Iraq and maintain influence.
She also points to the Coordination Framework and its previous efforts involving Nouri al-Maliki as another example of Iranian influence in Iraqi politics.
According to her, these militias have generally moved toward accepting disarmament, integrating into Iraq’s state structures, or returning to Iran.
🔹Hezbollah
MNT Goat then separates Hezbollah-linked elements from the broader militia issue.
She considers these groups to be amajor concern for Washingtonand connects them directly to the possibility of serious U.S. sanctions.
According to her, these elements cannot remain in Iraq if the economic and investment environment that President Trump is attempting to create is going to succeed.
She also claims that Hezbollah is being financed by Iran through money taken from Iraq.
💵 3. WASHINGTON'S “DOLLAR CARD”
MNT Goat highlights reports that Washington has warned Baghdad about potentiallystopping dollar shipments to Iraq.
The reported warning is that if the factions fail to comply with theSeptember 30 disarmament deadline, Washington could stop the monthly dollar shipments.
She describes this as Washington using the“dollar card” as leverage.
💰 MNT Goat says Iraq is not yet ready, in her view, to completely manage its own funds independently of the U.S. Treasury system.
She warns that if restrictions were imposed, Iraq’s banking system could face significant liquidity problems.
Her point is essentially:
If Iraqi banks already have liquidity problems, restrictions on the dollar flow could make those problems substantially worse.
🇺🇸 4. THE TWO DEADLINES ON SEPTEMBER 30
MNT Goat emphasizes thattwo major deadlines are converging at the end of September.
📅The U.S. military withdrawal
The remaining U.S. forces are expected to leave Iraq around September 30.
📅The militia disarmament deadline
The Iraqi government has also established September 30 as the deadline for weapons outside state institutions to come under state control.
According to MNT Goat, many factions have indicated that theydo not intend to surrender their weapons.
This creates uncertainty about what Iraq will look like after September 30.
🛡️ 5. CONCERNS ABOUT THE KURDISTAN REGION
MNT Goat also highlights concerns about the security situation in theKurdistan Regionfollowing the U.S. withdrawal.
The areas mentioned include:
🏔️ Bases of Iranian Kurdish dissident groups;
⚡ Energy infrastructure;
🏛️ Political facilities, including the office of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
The concern presented in the cited reporting is that the withdrawal of U.S. forces and air defenses could make the Kurdistan Region more vulnerable.
MNT Goat includes this as part of the larger security picture surrounding the September 30 transition.
⚠️ 6. AMERICAN PRESSURE ON AL-ZAIDI
MNT Goat highlights reports that the issue has entered avery sensitive phase.
According to the reports she cites, Washington has sent messages to Baghdad demanding practical progress on restricting weapons to the state.
One reported message criticized what Washington considered insufficient action.
Another reportedly warned of possible sanctions if meaningful progress was not made.
MNT Goat therefore views September 30 as potentially marking not the complete end of the issue, but the beginning of another phase involving:
➡️ Negotiations;
➡️ Additional procedures;
➡️ Continued pressure;
➡️ Possible short-term extensions.
🇺🇸 7. THE “TWO OPTIONS” PRESENTED TO IRAQ
MNT Goat also cites a report describing Washington as presenting Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi with two possible paths:
1️⃣Restrict the weapons of the armed factions.
2️⃣Face comprehensive sanctions.
The article she cites goes further and claims such sanctions could potentially destabilize the government and Iraqi economy.
MNT Goat includes this as evidence that Washington is becoming increasingly serious about the disarmament issue.
🇮🇶 8. IRAQI CLAIMS OF SOVEREIGNTY
MNT Goat also presents the opposing Iraqi political argument.
A former member of the parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen al-Kadhimi, reportedly described U.S. sanctions threats as:
➡️ Political blackmail;
➡️ Interference in Iraqi internal affairs;
➡️ A violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
He argued that Iraq is an independent and sovereign state and that outside countries should not interfere in its domestic affairs.
MNT Goat strongly disagrees with this interpretation and argues that Iraq still has significant Iranian influence.
She therefore questions the practical meaning of “full sovereignty” while Iranian-backed factions maintain influence inside Iraq.
🤝 9. THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT'S POSITION
MNT Goat then highlights what she considers an important development from the U.S. State Department.
The State Department reportedly confirmed that the United Statessupports Ali al-Zaidi’s effortsto:
🇮🇶 Extend Iraqi state sovereignty;
🔫 Bring weapons under state control;
🛡️ Prevent attacks originating from or launched within Iraqi territory;
🤝 Build a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between Washington and Baghdad.
The statement reportedly came in response to questions about whether Washington was considering financial or economic sanctions, including restrictions on dollar transactions.
The State Department didnot provide a direct confirmation of specific sanctions.
Instead, it emphasized U.S. support for Iraq’s sovereignty, security, and partnership with Washington.
🛢️ 10. THE OIL & GAS LAW
MNT Goat then moves to what she considers another major issue connected to the reinstatement:
IRAQ'S OIL & GAS LAW.
She says this is an issue investors need to watch closely.
According to the reporting she cites, the Oil & Gas Law remains stuck in Parliament after years of political and technical disputes.
The law is important because it would establish rules concerning:
🛢️ Management of oil and gas resources;
💰 Distribution of oil revenues;
🏛️ Federal government authority;
🏴 Kurdistan Regional Government interests;
🏘️ Provincial interests;
⛽ Management of oil fields;
🗺️ Disputed territories and oil fields.
📜 11. THE BAGHDAD–KURDISTAN DISPUTE
One of the major unresolved issues concerns the relationship between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.
MNT Goat highlights disagreements involving:
➡️ Oil field ownership;
➡️ Revenue distribution;
➡️ Management of oil resources;
➡️ Constitutional authority;
➡️ Disputed territories.
She says these issues need to be resolved before the Oil & Gas Law can finally be passed.
💰 12. CORRUPTION & OIL SMUGGLING
MNT Goat places particular emphasis on one part of the reporting.
She highlights claims that certain countries and interests benefit from:
🛢️ Oil smuggling;
💰 Corruption;
🏛️ Disorder surrounding the oil sector;
💵 The current method of distributing and managing oil revenues.
According to the interpretation presented in the newsletter, some interests therefore have reasons to prevent the Oil & Gas Law from being finalized.
MNT Goat considers this a major reason why the legislation has remained unresolved for so long.
📅 13. THE OIL & GAS LAW HAS BEEN DELAYED FOR YEARS
MNT Goat points out that the Oil & Gas Law was expected to be addressed following Iraq’s 2005 Constitution.
She emphasizes that the delay has now lasted for many years.
She specifically points toArticles 111 and 112 of the Iraqi Constitution, which address Iraq’s oil and gas resources and their relationship to the Iraqi people and federal authorities.
According to MNT Goat, the legislation necessary to put these constitutional provisions into a comprehensive framework should have been completed much earlier.
🏛️ 14. PARLIAMENT IS STILL WORKING ON THE LAW
MNT Goat highlights statements from Iraqi parliamentary figures saying the law continues to face political and technical obstacles.
She notes that the legislation has repeatedly been postponed from one parliamentary session to another.
However, she considers the continued discussion important because it means the issue remains active in Parliament.
She hopes the legislation will finally be completed rather than being shelved again.
She specifically raises the possibility of whether the law could be completed in time for the2027 budget process.
💴 15. REMOVING THE THREE ZEROS
This is one of the biggest points in the entire update.
MNT Goat reiterates that she expects Iraq to provide informationby the end of Septemberregarding the timeframe for:
💴Removing the zeros from the large three-zero Iraqi dinar notes.
She wants readers to pay close attention to this because, in her framework,removing the zeros and reinstatement are not necessarily the exact same event.
She says Iraq could potentially remove the zeros first and then proceed with the reinstatement once the remaining issues are addressed.
🏦 16. THE CBI & THE MONETARY TIMELINE
MNT Goat connects this monetary process to theCentral Bank of Iraq (CBI).
Her key point is that she expects information regarding thetimeline for removing the zerostoward the end of September.
She emphasizes:
📅There is a timetable.
And according to her, Iraqi authorities aretrying to meet that timetable.
She specifically tells readers not to dismiss the existence of a timetable.
🔄 17. COULD THE DISARMAMENT ISSUE DELAY THE RV?
MNT Goat asks whether the militia disarmament issue could interfere with the monetary timeline.
Her concern is that if the disarmament process is extended too far into the future, it could stall the larger reinstatement process.
However, she believes Washington will likely keep the pressure on Iraq.
She expects that if an extension is granted, it would likely be relatively short and accompanied by clear conditions.
🇺🇸 18. WASHINGTON'S NEGOTIATING STYLE
MNT Goat says she does not expect the Trump administration to allow the process to remain open indefinitely.
She describes the approach as a negotiation strategy in which Washington can provide additional time while making clear that the extension is limited.
In her interpretation:
➡️ Iraq could receive additional time;
➡️ Iraq would need to present a plan;
➡️ The plan would need to satisfy Washington;
➡️ The extension would not necessarily be open-ended;
➡️ The consequences of failing to comply would remain part of the negotiations.
🔥 19. MNT GOAT'S BIG PICTURE
MNT Goat connects all of these developments into one larger picture involving the future of Iraq’s monetary system.
The major pieces she identifies are:
🇮🇶Iraqi sovereignty
🔫Disarmament of Iranian-backed factions
🇺🇸U.S. pressure
💵Dollar flows and potential financial restrictions
🛢️Oil & Gas Law
💰Oil revenue distribution
🏛️Political reforms
🏦Central Bank monetary reforms
💴Removal of the three zeros
🔄Reinstatement of the Iraqi dinar
📅The September 30 deadline
🚨 THE BOTTOM LINE FROM MNT GOAT
MNT Goat’s overall message is thatthe process is still moving forward, but several major political, security, legislative, and monetary issues are converging at the same time.
She believes the next major period to watch isthe end of September.
📅 The key things she expects readers to watch are:
🔴 What happens with theSeptember 30 disarmament deadline;
🔴 Whether Washington grants Iraq an extension;
🔴 Whether the dollar system becomes a source of additional pressure;
🔴 Whether Iraq advances theOil & Gas Law;
🔴 Whether Parliament continues moving the legislation toward completion;
🔴 Whether information emerges regarding theCBI's timetable for removing the three zeros;
🔴 And whether these developments allow the broaderreinstatement processto continue according to the timetable MNT Goat says is already in place.
💵🇮🇶For MNT Goat, the message is clear: September remains a critical month, and the developments surrounding September 30 could provide important information about the next stage of Iraq’s monetary reform and the path toward reinstatement.
🔥THE FOCUS NOW IS ON IRAQ'S NEXT MOVES, WASHINGTON'S RESPONSE, THE OIL & GAS LAW, THE CBI MONETARY TIMELINE, AND THE REMOVAL OF THE THREE ZEROS.