Leveraging Iran's Defeat to Strengthen U.S.-Iraq Security Relations
Tehran's Iraqi proxies mostly sat out the twelve-day war, but this pragmatic restraint will not forestall growing U.S.-Iran competition over Iraq's airspace, economic partnerships, and other sectors.
Trump's Looming Tariffs could Target 4 MENA Countries
From Iraq to Algeria, Trump's looming tariffs could target 4 MENA countries
The United States has a trade deficit with Iraq, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, according to the US government, prompting the president to send them letters warning of new tariffs.
I have said it many times that this reinstatement of the dinar is nothing but political. Can you see it now in the comments made by Tammy Bruce? If it wasn’t the Dr Shabibi coup would have never happened. The newer lower denominations would be in circulation and we would have already been to the bank.
We can try to ignore the political side but if we truly want the TRUTH we must connect the pieces and see it. Trump’s policy towards Iraq is one of hope but he is also going to first use Iraq as a platform for peace in the middle east. We have to sit and watch it all play out.
So today we have a good idea of what the U.S. policy is towards Iraq. When the U.S. really steps up to the plate economically in Iraq you will see wonderous things happen. But first things first as the U.S. does not want it investment squandered by war and instability. This means dealing with Iran and these terrorists organizations first.
Trump wants ACTION not WORDS
Take a peak at the article titled “TRUMP’S TAX HITS IRAQ’S ECONOMY HARD… 3 URGENTLY NEEDED COURSES OF ACTION”. If you haven’t heard already earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on six countries, 30% on Algeria, 25% on Brunei, 30% on Iraq, 30% on Libya, 25% on Moldova, and 25% on the Philippines. We must dive deep as to why Trump is doing this move. He wants to negotiate with these countries and so this is a platform to get their attention to do so. Why have they not already contacted the U.S. on this tariff issue, as they knew darn well it was coming?
In the articles titled: “INTERNATIONAL WARNING TO IRAQ.. AN EXPERT DISCUSSES THE IMF REPORT: YOU ARE TO BLAME, TOO.” and “IMF EXECUTIVE BOARD CONCLUDES 2025 ARTICLE IV CONSULTATION WITH IRAQ”. We read the pros and cons in the IMF executive summary for Iraq 2025 consultation. Interesting to note it seems the IMF has mixed emotions about the Iraqi economy.
Iraq has managed to uphold domestic stability despite regional turmoil and global uncertainty. At the same time, the non-oil economy slowed down in 2024 following a very strong growth in 2023.
(All VERY positive comments about STABILITY)
The important part is that Inflation has remained subdued amid weaker demand. Financing constraints and lower oil revenues are expected to constrain fiscal spending, taking an additional toll on economic activity. (This is why the budget tables for 2025 have not yet been released. The GOI does not want to complete the projects allocated for 2025 due to a drop in oil revenues.)
Against a baseline of low oil prices, fiscal deficits and external accounts are projected to deteriorate further over the medium term unless significant reforms are undertaken to increase non-oil revenues, control the public wage bill, and boost non-oil growth potential through an ambitious structural reform agenda. (We have read all about these other sources of revenues. Iraq just needs some time to implement them fully. Many of these revenue sources will out weight the revenues from the oil.)
The expert’s criticism of the IMF itself stems from the fact that the IMF itself is unaware of the Iraqi political and social context, which makes implementing the “ready-made recipes” it offers extremely difficult. Its proposals clash with the spread of the deep state’s influence and its obstruction of tax reform aimed at increasing non-oil revenues, for example. (So please don’t tell me we are not supposed to study the political side or that politics has nothing to do with getting the reinstatement done! 😊 All you other intel gurus can safely stay away from politics and give out your stupid nonsense every day- any day RV dates to your listeners, but I stick to reality and common sense, sorry! )
We must continue our prayers. How much do we want the RV? We must consider the Iraqi people to in our prayers as the RV means much more to them than to us. They need their normalcy back to prior to 1991. We must stay focused on the prize. It is coming.
I need all my readers to understand what is going on in Iraq and what is behind it. I want you to be educated on the affairs on Iraq and how they impact what we are looking for (the RV and Restatement). I need you to understand in spite of all this foolish intel guru talk out on the internet.
We are much smarter than these idiots to believe all of their nonsense. No, the RV rate in not in these budget tables as a reason to hold them up that they don’t want us to see until they are ready to RV. Get it? Stop all this foolish talk. I can hardly believe anyone would fall for this nonsense. Again, any revaluation of the Iraqi dinar will be announced and we don’t need to go fishing through some budget tables to find it, if it could even be there.
The House of Representatives will hold its first session of the second legislative term for 2025 on Saturday. Let’s hope they finally take up the Oil and Gas Law again. We know they will take up the issue of the Budget Tables.
If you notice one thing among all these other issues and ongoing sagas in the government of Iraq (GOI) we still see the CBI trucking again and making movement towards it final destination of the reinstatement of the dinar to a global status (FOREX). It is like these other issues, although are very important, feel like just distractions but we know they can also affect the monetary process and should be resolved for stability.
As the U.S. exerts yet more pressure on Iraq for a wakeup call to what I believe is to bring the two sides together. The sides are Kurdistan and the Baghdad government. Reality is setting in. Either this country decides to unite and use their constitutional powers to settle disputes or things are on the brink of getting much worse.
But there is hope for Iraq. Remember, when I told you that soon oil prices will drop as other sources of energy are coming that will outmode the use of the dependency on oil. Is Iraq ready for this change? Are they still clinging to their “rentier” economy? What does this have to do with the reinstatement?
Statements made by the US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Tuesday urged Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their disputes through constructive dialogue. She emphasized that settling the Kurdistan Region’s salary issue would demonstrate Iraq’s commitment to a stable investment climate, while also paving the way for broader cooperation—such as reopening the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and expanding energy projects with US companies.
I am telling you that these issues matter and by resolving them Iraq can show they have put on their “big boy” pants and are ready to work in the global community. This is what the U.S. is looking for. It’s called STABILITY”.
Al-Nusairi: The Central Bank Is Leading The Banking Sector Toward Comprehensive Reform, Economic Stimulation, And Sustainable Development.
Banks Economy News – Baghdad Economic and banking advisor Samir Al-Nusairi affirmed that the Central Bank continues to lead the Iraqi banking sector in accordance with its third strategy and its comprehensive banking reform project for the next two years, based on a continuous daily work system in cooperation with international consulting and auditing companies currently operating with the aim of achieving banking reform and moving banks to a stage of contributing to stimulating the economy, revitalizing the economic cycle, achieving economic growth, and transforming banks into a lever for sustainable development.
Al-Nusairi explained in an interview with Al-Eqtisad News that in order to motivate banks and develop banking operations so they can fulfill their duties stipulated in the Banking Law and the applicable instructions and executive regulations issued by the Central Bank, and serve the national economy and customers, it is necessary to carefully implement the reform measures outlined for them, as well as to re-review, evaluate, and classify banks.
Al-Nusairi pointed out that there are international standard criteria for classifying central banks that are agreed upon in most countries, such as controlling inflation, economic growth, monetary stability, independence, and the extent to which economic goals are achieved.
Since central banks are subject to classification and since they are the ones that monitor and supervise banks, the classification of Iraqi banks must be based on international standard criteria approved in most countries, the basis of which is compliance with international banking standards,
enhancing financial inclusion, encouraging competition, preventing monopoly in the banking market, providing opportunities for shareholders and investors to obtain profitable and sustainable returns, accelerating digital transformation, and a rapid transition to a solid national economy.
He explained that the reform, evaluation, and classification of the banking sector should be based on criteria of capital, assets, liquidity, profitability, and risk management.
Additional programs should be adopted that are consistent with the Iraqi reality, such as approving the banks' operating results and final accounts for the last five years, focusing on analyzing assets, revenues, expenses, capital adequacy, indicators of capital investment, cash credit granted and its sectoral distribution, the return on capital ratio, return on assets, liquidity ratio, and the extent of banks' compliance with applicable banking instructions, particularly activating the national strategy for bank lending to finance small and medium-sized enterprises and applying environmental, social, and corporate governance standards. 631 views https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=57222
Any move on the part of the Central Bank of Iraq to restrict the citizens in the use of the dollar and more use of the dinar is yet another move towards monetary sovereignty for Iraq. Remember how Iraq got the US dollar in circulation in the first place, it was because of the sanctions.
Now they have ditched the dollar, the parallel market is done and they are going back to sole use of the Iraqi dinar as their main currency within the country. This is exactly how it was before the 2003 invasions and the hyperinflation conversion to the three zero notes and the use of the currency auctions (sole use of the US dollar to pay for imports). Yes, these days are almost over.
So, what we really want to see is the use of the dinar to pay for imports and thus the demand for dinar by other countries as a currency of some value.
Right now, Iraq does send their dinars to some of the correspondent banks to pay for imports but this is still limited as many banks still want US dollars directly. But the conversion process (exchange of dinars for dollars) process is taking on steam and is rolling forward over time.
No, this does not yet mean an RV or reinstatement has happened and so stop listening to these silly intel gurus who don’t know what they are talking about.
😊😊So, in yet another very good article titled “EXPERTS: THE NATIONAL PAYMENT CARD ENHANCES MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY.” We learn more about the project called the Local Scheme. This project has many benefits. I will let you go read the entire article for yourself to get all the details.
I included it in the Articles Section. However, I do want to emphasis that I believe this is yet another Central Bank’s initiative to contribute to absorbing liquidity and eliminating financial hoarding of dinars and dollars, as well as strengthening the principle of monetary sovereignty. Aren’t these the two main monetary issues facing the CBI today?
So, yet another solution is being implemented in the hope it will solve these issues. How many solutions have we see over the years to combat these banking issues? Will this one finally work to the desired level? We won’t have the answer to this question until they let this project take root. I am sure they will tell us in the upcoming news. Let’s wait and see.
Where’s the BEEF, I mean budget tables….lol…
I want to bring you attention to one of the most controversial issues facing Iraq today. In the article titled “WHERE ARE THE 2025 BUDGET SCHEDULES? PROJECTS ARE SUSPENDED, PLANS ARE POSTPONED, AND PARLIAMENT HOLDS THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE” we read about this issue again.
Despite more than half a year having passed since the start of the fiscal year, the 2025 budget schedules remain absent from the House of Representatives, a scene that rekindles concerns about a financial paralysis that threatens service and development projects in the governorates. This delay comes despite the country’s adoption of the “Tripartite Budget” law, which was supposed to spare Iraq the annual wait for approval of financial allocations and ensure stability in the flow of funds and project planning.
Remember that in past articles the Finance Committee has fully explained why the budget tables are being held up. They told us the main reason is the drop in oil prices. The second reason (connected to the first) is that Iraq does not want to run the government on a deficit. Obviously is revenues drop how will they pay for the budget?
So the effort has been to slim down the budget to meet the oil revenues. The third reason given to us in the past is they have to pay for the 2025 and if oil is not flowing from the Kurdistan region, revenues are affected that pay their salaries. If they don’t get their salaries, they cut off the oil. So what comes first the chicken or the egg. You see these issues are all interconnected.
Some say why not just pay the salaries to the Kurds from the CBI reserves? This is not a practice the CBI wants to encounter unless an emergency crisis such as what happened in 2020 during the Covid pandemic. There are certain lessons learned too from that era. One is over spending in times like this. Oh.. why are the salaries late to the Kurds in the first place? This has a lot to do with constitutional issues in the sale of oil, again which could be easily solved with the passing of the Oil and Gas Law.