BAGHDAD: The United States has resumed cash shipments to Iraq after a delay, signalling its support for Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s administration, with the premier expected in Washington later this month, a government spokesperson said Thursday.
Iraq’s revenues from oil exports are largely held at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, under an arrangement reached after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled former ruler Saddam Hussein.
Under the system, payments for oil are made into dollar-denominated accounts in the US which are then either used to pay for imports or flow to Iraq as cash.
Earlier this year, Washington suspended the cash transfers to Iraq as it piled pressure on Baghdad to disarm Iran-backed armed groups, which launched hundreds of attacks on US facilities in Iraq during the Middle East war.
Iraqi officials downplayed the issues, saying the dollar shipments had ceased due to the closure of airspace and the security situation.
