US Blocks Plane Carrying $500 Million in Cash to Iraq

Illustration of an airplane. (John McArthur-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) blocked a plane carrying nearly 500 million US dollars in the form of banknotes into Iraq.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US had suspended cash shipments to Iraq and frozen funding for the country's security programs amid the US-Israeli war against Iran.

According to the US media report, Iraq is under US pressure to fight Iranian-backed militant groups so that the blockade is carried out.

Iraq has long been in a difficult position between the competing influence of its allies, Iran and the US.

However, Iraqi leaders have struggled to maintain that balance as war has engulfed the Middle East.

A US Navy SEAL team secured its military base in western Iraq, specifically at Ain al-Asad Air Base on September 2, 2007 during a visit by then-President George W. Bush. (US Navy-Wikimedia Commons)

An Iraqi government official told AFP that only one shipment had not arrived. He reasoned "because of the war" and the closure of the airspace.

An official at the Iraqi central bank also echoed this, saying that the delivery of dollars had stopped during the regional war "due to flight suspensions and security situations."'

He added that the central bank had not asked for more US dollars because it had sufficient reserves and "there is no current need to increase them."

Separately, an Iraqi security official confirmed that the US had blocked security cooperation with Iraq. He reasoned that it was because factions targeted US military interests in Iraq in response to US attacks on Iran.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott acknowledged the efforts of Iraqi security forces to respond to the attack, but a number of elements in the Iraqi Government "actively provide political, financial, and operational protection for militias that have a negative impact on US-Iraqi relations."

"The United States will not tolerate attacks on US interests and expects the Iraqi government to immediately take all actions to dissolve Iranian-affiliated militia groups in Iraq," Pigott said.