According to The Wall Street Journal, a plane carrying approximately $500 million in US banknotes from Iraq’s oil revenues was stopped by the US Treasury.
Published on 22 April 2026
The United States has blocked shipments of US dollars to Iraq and halted some security cooperation programs with the Iraqi military, according to Iraqi and US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, increasing pressure on Baghdad to curb powerful Iran-aligned groups.
A recent shipment of a cargo plane carrying approximately $500 million worth of US banknotes was stopped by the US Treasury Department, reports said. The money came from Iraqi oil revenues held in accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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The suspended transfer to Iraq’s central bank was the second scheduled dollar shipment delayed by Washington since the US-Israel war over Iran began in late February.
The move comes as Washington has pressured Baghdad to move closer to the US and loosen long-standing ties with Iran during the nearly eight-week war.
It follows attacks by Iran-aligned groups inside Iraq, targeting US military facilities and neighboring countries over what they described as support for Tehran.
The US has also carried out airstrikes against armed groups in Iraq aligned with Iran, including groups associated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) – a group of factions formally included in Iraq’s state security apparatus.
In a statement on Tuesday, Iraq’s central bank did not directly refer to the halted deliveries, but said it had sufficient US currency reserves.
legacy of the iraq war
Following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Washington took control of the management of Iraq’s oil revenues by placing tens of billions of dollars of the proceeds in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Although the arrangement was presented as a way to stabilize Iraq’s economy, critics said it gave the US enormous leverage over the country it had just captured, allowing Washington to influence Iraq’s financial system and gain access to its oil wealth.
Large consignments of cash were sent back to Baghdad each year to keep the economy running, reinforcing Iraq’s dependence on US-controlled financial channels.
US officials told The Wall Street Journal that the suspension of shipments was temporary, but did not specify what steps Iraq would need to take to resume deliveries.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in office through 2022, has sought US support for a second term, while also avoiding confrontation with Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq.
