US resumes $500 million cash shipment to Iraq amid scrutiny over control of oil revenues
The US Federal Reserve has reportedly sent a $500 million cash shipment to Iraq's Central Bank, renewing attention to long-standing arrangements that require Baghdad to seek Washington's approval to access its own oil revenues.
Citing an Iraqi official, the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported on Thursday that the shipment had arrived in Baghdad and that it will be allocated for traveler transactions and foreign money transfers.
The funds were approved by the Central Bank of Iraq for external remittances, the report added.
Under agreements established following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the country's oil revenues — which constitute more than 90% of state income — are deposited in US Federal Reserve accounts in New York.
The Iraqi government must formally request cash shipments from the US Federal Reserve in order to access these funds.
The arrangements have long drawn criticism inside Iraq, with observers arguing that they leave Baghdad dependent on Washington for access to its own financial resources and undermine the country's monetary sovereignty.
The United States halted cash shipments to Iraq in April 2026 following reprisal strikes by Iraq's anti-terror forces against US military assets in the country.
During the four-month suspension, Iraqi inflation rose and the dinar weakened significantly against the US dollar.
Political and economic observers believe the suspension demonstrated Washington's ability to use Iraq's financial resources as leverage to influence Baghdad's political decisions. They note that the resumption of shipments came only after signs of political compliance by the Iraqi government.
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 under the pretext that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, an allegation later proven wrong. In 2014, it led scores of its allies in a so-called mission to defeat the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group without a mandate from the United Nations.
However, the US-led coalition proved to be largely ineffective against Daesh, which was ultimately defeated in 2017 by Iraqi armed forces backed by the country's Popular Mobilization Units.
Since then, the United States has maintained about 2,500 troops in Iraq despite a 2020 resolution by the Iraqi parliament calling for the expulsion of foreign forces.
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