US President Donald Trump’s administration has halted US dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programs with its military, as it presses Baghdad to dismantle Iranian-backed militias operating in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing Iraqi and U.S. officials.
U.S. Treasury Department officials recently blocked a delivery of nearly $500 million in U.S. banknotes – the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales – from accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Journal said.
Washington has also informed Baghdad it is suspending funding for some counter-terrorism and military training programs u…
The United States earlier this month summoned Iraq’s ambassador after a drone struck a major U.S. diplomatic facility in Baghdad, following a series of drone attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran‑aligned “terrorist militias.”