Dollar Banknote Shipments to Iraq Resume Under a Baghdad and Washington Agreement

Iraq's government said it has reached an agreement with the United States to continue shipments of US dollar banknotes to the country, with a new consignment due to arrive in the coming days. Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi told Iraq's official news agency on Saturday, 26 September 2026 (4 Mehr 1405), that the deal was reached during the Iraqi prime minister's visit to the United States; he did not give the value of the shipment or an exact delivery date. Mehr News Agency, citing Anadolu, and Donya-e-Eqtesad carried the report on Sunday, 27 September (5 Mehr).

According to the spokesman, the agreement followed steps by Baghdad to tighten oversight of dollar distribution, curb misuse of foreign currency and expand electronic payments. Washington halted dollar shipments to Iraq in April, including one worth about $500 million, and Iraqi officials said part of the shipments resumed in July.

The supply of physical dollars in Iraq, whose foreign reserves are held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is one of the channels that shapes the dinar exchange rate and the Iran and Iraq border currency market.