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Why does the US control Iraq's oil revenues?

middleeasteye.net · 2h · first reportShare

Why does the US control Iraq's oil revenues? Submitted by Azhar Al-Rubaie on Mon, 09/21/2026 - 08:50 A system created after the 2003 invasion was designed to protect Iraq's oil wealth. More than two decades later, it gives Washington significant leverage over Baghdad A man counts US dollar banknotes at al-Kifah stock market in Baghdad on 27 December 2022 (Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP) Off For more than two decades, Iraq 's oil wealth has passed through a financial system centred thousands of miles away in New York. The arrangement, created after the US -led invasion of Iraq in 2003, was initially designed to protect Iraqi oil revenues from creditors and help fund reconstruction. Today, it gives Washington significant leverage over Iraq's access to its own dollars, leverage that the US is increasingly using as it pressures Baghdad to curb Iran 's influence and the activities of armed groups aligned with Tehran. The issue came into sharp focus in April, when Washington blocked a shipment of about