SUDANESE TO IRANIAN OFFICIAL: WE DO NOT TOLERATE AT THE EXPENSE OF IRAQ’S SOVEREIGNTY
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday that there is no courtesy with any party at the expense of Iraq’s sovereignty, reiterating his rejection of any unilateral actions by any country, while stressing the Iraqi government’s keenness to establish relations on the principle of good neighborliness.
The media office of the Sudanese said in a statement received by the Shafaq News Agency that “the latter received today, the Secretary-General of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Akbar Ahmadian,” and stressed during the meeting “Iraq’s rejection of any unilateral actions carried out by any country, contrary to international principles based on mutual respect for sovereignty.”
“Iraq has made, and continues to make, great efforts to maintain stability and achieve calm, in the common interest of the various peoples of the region,” al-Sudani said.
For his part, the Secretary-General of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council stressed “his country’s commitment to Iraq’s security and stability, and its keenness to continue working in accordance with the joint security agreement between Iraq and Iran in a way that preserves the security of the two neighboring countries.”
Last month, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a violent missile attack targeting civilian areas in Erbil, killing and wounding 10 civilians.
Federal Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered at the time the formation of an investigative committee consisting of five figures, headed by National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji, to investigate the incident.
Al-Sudani also described the bombing as a “clear act of aggression” and stressed his government’s determination to take “legal and diplomatic measures”.
The Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the strikes on Erbil, saying in a statement that they were “in response to the crimes of the Zionist regime against the Islamic Republic”.
FRANK: I'm here to talk to you about your bank...I asked, Here at Chase do you folks exchange foreign currency?
He said no, we do not. I found it odd...something was very wrong...Second Question, If you don't exchange foreign currency why is Jamie Dimon the CEO in Iraq? ...
[He said] No he's not. My next statement almost started WW III...Sir, you are very ignorant. You're in charge of this bank and you're answering my questions incorrectly...
I said let me try that again, Does Chase convert foreign currency into American dollars?
No. J.P Morgan does.
..So Chase is a bank and JP Morgan are the investors of Chase Bank right ?
Yes...They will exchange your currency..
.He softened up a little bit. He asked, What do you have?
...The Iraqi dinar...
How much?
I made up a number. I have over 200 million dinars.
He said, you're not going to be exchanging your dinars here at Chase. We can't handle that. You have to go to a state bank...
Where should I take my dinars to have them look at them, inspect them and then deposit them correctly?
He said New York [or] Chicago...You come here to my Chase office in Toledo Ohio we'll zoom with Chicago.
You're going to come to me?
Yes...We'll make an appointment. The Brinks truck will come, a representative will come. They will verify it. They will have all the equipment they need...
Baghdad is considering adopting a special mechanism to sell dollars to travelers
BAGHDAD – The Central Bank of Iraq revealed that it will launch a special mechanism for selling dollars to ensure that they reach real travelers only, in the context of filling the loopholes for the leakage of hard currency into the parallel market or its smuggling abroad.
Bank Governor Ali Al-Alaq told the official Iraqi News Agency last Tuesday that the Central Bank and the government “give high priority to the issue of electronic payment because of its important economic repercussions and raising the level of transactions away from excessive use of cash.”
Al-Alaq did not specify the exact date for launching the new mechanism, but he explained that the Iraqi economy is par excellence and the electronic payment process aims to significantly reduce the economic degree of cash.
He stressed that the authorities have made important strides in arranging electronic payment at the level of collection and payment in state institutions, in addition to that the government has approved a package of “important” decisions, which facilitate this process and not burden citizens with the resulting commissions.
At the beginning of 2024, Iraq banned cash withdrawals and transactions in US dollars, in a step to limit the misuse of cash reserves in financial crimes and evade US sanctions on Iran.
Iraqis can withdraw money in dollars before they travel, but this has created a new problem, according to observers.
During the past months, authorities at the country’s airports arrested many travelers in possession of bank cards that they used to withdraw thousands of dollars from abroad at the official rate, then sell them again at the black market price inside Iraq.
The authorities limited dealing in dollars exclusively to the Central Bank and licensed banking offices, coinciding with the intensification of campaigns to monitor the high prices of food and medicine in local markets in Baghdad, in coordination with commercial control departments and intelligence services.
The announcement comes days after a decision preventing eight local commercial banks from dealing in dollars, as part of measures taken to reduce fraud, money laundering, and other illicit uses of the US currency.
The banned banks include Ashur International for Investment and Iraqi Investment, Al-Ittihad Al-Iraqi, Kurdistan International Islamic for Investment and Development, Al-Huda, Al-Janoub Islamic for Investment and Finance, Al-Arabiya Islamic and Hammurabi Commercial.
Under the decision, these banks will be prohibited from participating in the daily dollar auction organized by the Central Bank. The auction is the main source of hard currency in the country that depends on imports.
Last July, the government prevented 14 banks from conducting transactions in dollars as part of a broader campaign aimed at preventing the smuggling of dollars to Iran at that time through the Iraqi banking system. Iraqi and American officials said that the decision came after a request from Washington.
The banned banks include Ashur International for Investment and Iraqi Investment, the Iraqi Union, Kurdistan Islamic International for Investment and Development, Al-Huda, Al-Janoub Islamic for Investment and Finance, Al-Arabiya Islamic, and Hammurabi Commercial.
The central bank says banks banned from dealing in dollars are allowed to continue operating and conducting transactions in other currencies. Iraq has become a focal point in the American campaign aimed at reducing dollar smuggling to Iran.
Iraq, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, has reserves of more than $100 billion in the United States and relies heavily on Washington’s goodwill to ensure that its access to oil revenues and financial resources are not hampered.
Al-Alaq says that the Central Bank’s adherence to the rules and principles of external transfer in accordance with the conditions and requirements it set and its insistence on implementing them prompted many hesitant merchants to enter the official platform it created to sell foreign currency.
He stressed that using the platform is easy and safe and allows traders to use the dollar at the official rate, and that the bank has the ability to meet all requests for the dollar, whether personal, commercial, or any kind, as long as they are valid and legitimate, and these are strongly supported by the size of the foreign reserve.
He pointed out that the Central Bank has no problem in offering or selling the dollar, and that it does not place restrictions on sales operations at all and has never specified for any bank the value of its purchases of the American currency, nor has it set an upper or lower limit for any merchant, importer, or user of the dollar, or anything else.
He said, “This gave the impression that there is no problem in responding to demand for the dollar and that speculation is useless because the rules for this speculation are not available and incorrect.” He added, “Some groups are still trying, from here and there, to stay away from the platform for various reasons, whether to evade taxes, customs, etc., or because of illegal trade.”
There are many countries that have a ton of resources and the governments are rich but the people are poor. I've been a huge supporter of the Iraqi people. I keep praying their government gets their shit together and they're able to prosper from the resources they have.
There's no reason for them not to. Sure I want to make money off the Iraqi dinar but...not at the expense of the Iraqi people...I can see how the Iraqi people will become prosperous because if they change the exchange rate it give them more purchasing power . That means they're able to buy a lot more things with their money...An increase in the exchange rate would benefit them greatly...
I already said this about the World Trade Organization - There is no certain exchange rate that you must have to get into the World Trade Organization. What they're looking for is an exchange rate that's very stable. Although...IMO I'm pretty sure they would prefer it if you didn't have so many zeros.
“Immediately”… The law calls on the Sudanese to take the decision to remove the American forces
Information/private.. Today, Thursday, the State of Law coalition called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to issue a decision to remove American forces from Iraq immediately, while stressing that America continues to violate all security agreements concluded with it.
Coalition member Ibrahim Al-Sakini said in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, “The government is responsible for protecting all members of the official security institutions from American attacks,” noting that “Al-Sudani is required to call for an emergency parliamentary session and take action to stop the violation of sovereignty by Washington.”
He continued, “The government must go to international courts to end the violations in which Washington continues to target security forces and civilians,” pointing out that “it is necessary for all groups of the Iraqi people to support the government and parliament in making decisions to expel the American embassy or remove combat forces.”
Al-Sakini concluded his speech by saying, “America’s attacks have reached a dangerous stage that cannot be tolerated by all concerned political, governmental, and popular parties,” adding that “Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani is required to issue a decision to remove American forces from Iraq immediately.”
Large popular marches took place to denounce the bombing of security forces and civilians in safe areas in the center of the capital, Baghdad, after security leaders were targeted by a drone yesterday.
The recent bombing confirms what was revealed by some secret sources and reports, about Washington handing over Iraqi airspace to the Zionist Mossad in order to target the leaders of the Iraqi resistance in response to its position of support for the Palestinian resistance, and to destroy the American forces to force the American occupier to remove the combat forces from Iraq.
