QAANI MISSES THE PACE OF THE FACTIONS.. A REPORT URGES WASHINGTON TO DELIVER THE FINAL BLOW
A British report revealed, on Friday, the inability of the current commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Ismail Qaani, to control and direct the factions loyal to Tehran in the region, unlike his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, indicating that he unleashed forces and factions over which he lost control.
The British newspaper “The Telegraph” reported that events in the Middle East are on the verge of getting out of control, and with the Hamas movement in Gaza, the Hezbollah faction in southern Lebanon, and the Houthi group in Yemen targeting Israel and the West, the Iranian hand looms strongly on the horizon. : Is Tehran unable to stop the escalation it started on its own?
The Committee on Economy, Industry and Trade, headed by MP Ahmed Salim Al-Kanani, discussed today, Wednesday, with the Association of Iraqi Banks and directors of private banks, the sanctions imposed by the US Federal Bank.
The Information Department of the House of Representatives said, in a statement received by “Economy News”, that “the Committee of Economy, Industry and Trade, headed by MP Ahmed Salim Al-Kinani and the presence of its members hosted the Association of Iraqi Banks and Directors of private banks,” noting that “the meeting discussed the sanctions imposed by the US Federal Bank on a number of Iraqi private banks.”
The committee listened to “a detailed explanation provided by the Association of Iraqi Banks and Directors of National Banks about the most important problems and obstacles suffered by private banks, including freezing their balances abroad and stopping foreign transactions and transfers with correspondent banks.”
The Association of Iraqi Banks indicated that “the ban imposed on these banks came with a letter from the Central Bank of Iraq without stating the reasons,” calling on “the House of Representatives and the Parliamentary Economy Committee to intervene to address this issue in cooperation with the Central Bank and the Council of Ministers.”
The participants stressed that “the ban imposed on private banks negatively affected the Iraqi economy, as the private banks constitute more than 47% of the assets, 36% of deposits and 37% of the capital, adding that the prohibited banks constitute 50% of the private banks in Iraq, and this directly affects the performance of the Iraqi economy in a scientific way.”
For his part, the head of the committee stressed that “the House of Representatives pays great attention to this issue as it negatively affects the growth of the Iraqi economy.” He added that “the committee is following up the matter with the Council of Ministers and the Central Bank of Iraq to find effective solutions that contribute to lifting the ban on these banks.”
THE IRAQI CENTRAL BANK CANCELS THE OPERATION OF THE LARGEST IRANIAN BANK IN THE COUNTRY
The Central Bank of Iraq has canceled the operating license of the largest Iranian bank in Iraq, the National Bank of Iran (Milli), due to international sanctions and the bank’s limited operations in Iraq, according to what Reuters reported on Thursday.
Reuters said that this decision was contained in a document from the Central Bank of Iraq dated January 31, 2024.The document stated, “In light of the losses incurred by your branch in Iraq, its limited activities, its inability to implement or expand banking activities, and…its inclusion in international sanctions, it has been decided to cancel your license.”
In 2018, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Bank Melli, claiming that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is using it to “distribute funds to Iraqi Shiite armed groups, and that Bank Melli’s presence in Iraq is part of this scheme.”
Iraq, which has reserves of more than $100 billion in the United States, is counting heavily on Washington’s goodwill to ensure that its access to oil revenues and money is not blocked.
Iraq recently banned eight local commercial banks from conducting transactions in US dollars and took measures to limit fraud, money laundering and other illegal uses of the US currency in a move welcomed by the US Treasury Department.
According to Iraqi and American officials, Iraq prevented 14 banks in July 2023 from conducting dollar transactions as part of a broader campaign aimed at reducing the smuggling of dollars into Iran through the Iraqi banking system after a request from Washington, according to Reuters.
The UN Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) issued a statement to “set things in perspective” regarding “misleading reports” by traditional media and Iraqi communication platforms about why the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Jeanine Blaschart, had left the country.
In its statement, the mission stressed that the departure of Blasschart “is consistent with practices within the UN, including the usual rotation of senior UN officials.”
In her last briefing to the Security Council that she said she might be the last on Iraq, she announced that she arrived in Baghdad in December 2018 and “now, five years later, it’s almost time to say goodbye and expect to leave my position at the end of May,” describing Iraq “a country of immense beauty, a country of rich diversity and culture, where there are many opportunities to seize.”
The mission distanced itself from “allegations of corruption” at UNDP and made in a report by the British newspaper The Guardian by asserting that “UNAMI and UNDP have different administrative and financial structures.”
She urged the media to “prioritize accuracy and refrain from circulating misinformation.”
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