US Confirms Release Of $2.7bn Debt Funds From Iraq To Iran
The United States has finally confirmed it allowed Iraq to release $2.7 billion of its debts to Iran.
The United States has finally confirmed it allowed Iraq to release $2.7 billion of its debts to Iran.
The mechanism by which the money would be released remains murky, but Washington claims it is part of a number of humanitarian transactions which have been taking place consistently over years since the previous administration.
Speaking in this week’s press briefing, Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, told reporters: “Iran can only access its funds held in accounts for Iraq for humanitarian and other non-sanctionable transactions.”
He told reporters the transaction is consistent with US law and in full coordination with the Government of Iraq while all Iran-related sanctions continue to be upheld.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was reportedly given the clearance during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Riyadh Conference on June 8, according to Reuters.
The Iraqi foreign ministry source said that the funds will be transferred through the Commercial Bank of Iraq and Iranian officials have confirmed that the money will be used for Iranian Hajj pilgrims' expenses and foodstuffs imported by Iran.
In spite of reports worldwide, the US continues to deny its being in direct talks with Iran over a return to the nuclear deal. Miller said that recent reports have been “false” or misleading, claiming the channels of communication have always been open.
As reporters' questions became more intense, Miller was increasingly uncomfortable, tripping over his words and backtracking as things heated up. A barrage of questions were thrown at the spokesman whose standard lines were clearly not cutting it in light of the Iraq revelations and the obvious frustration reporters felt by the ongoing denials of the Oman talks.
“We have always had the ability to deliver messages to Iran when it’s in the interests of the United States to do so,” he said, undermining the meeting which took place in Oman, repeating the Biden administration’s standard line that diplomacy is the best means to ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon in spite of its having reached terrifying limits.
So seriously has the meeting and its outcome been taken by Iran’s adversaries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the matter in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Tuesday.
He openly stated there is very much a deal underway between the US and Iran, reasserting claims that "no agreement with Iran will be binding on Israel, which will continue to do everything to defend itself."
Referring to Iran, he told MKs that “over 90% of our security problems stem from Iran and its proxies, and our policy is aimed at increasing the circle of peace, to stop Iran and its proxies”, no matter what deals are struck between Iran and other nations, emphasizing the government’s “opposition to a return to the original [JCPOA] agreement”.
He admitted there are still differences of outlook on the matter between Israel and its largest ally, the US, not only about JCPOA but also about smaller agreements.
The revelations come amidst a busy diplomatic week for Iran, which this week, saw its chief unclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani, meet representatives of the E3, Britain, France and Germany, in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Christian Turner, Director General Geopolitics and Political Director at the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, remained tight-lipped on the nature of discussions, only tweeting: “The discussion covered a wide range of issues of mutual interest and concern.”
To have taken place in Abu Dhabi shows the importance of Tehran’s ties to its Arab Gulf neighbours and adversaries, which are taking a key role in facilitating a peaceful resolution to Iran’s ongoing nuclear armament, which, on Abu Dhabi’s doorstep, keeps its leaders awake at night.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was reportedly given the clearance during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Riyadh Conference on June 8, Reuters cited a senior Iraqi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Iraqi foreign ministry source said that the funds will be transferred through the Commercial Bank of Iraq and Iranian officials have confirmed that the money will be used for Iranian Hajj pilgrims' expenses and foodstuffs imported by Iran.
Iranian officials have claimed that the money in Iraqi banks could be as much as $10 billion or more. Yahya Al-e Eshaq, the head of the Iran-Iraq chamber of commerce, was quoted as saying by the local media Saturday that the Iraqi debt is between $7 to $8 billion but only $2.7b has been agreed to be released and that part of the funds has been earmarked for pilgrims and another portion has been used to purchase basic goods.
On Monday, Iranian lawmaker Hassan Norouzi claimed that the money will be provided to the Hajj pilgrims in forms of subsidies to buy dollars at a slightly lower rate than free market. However, he criticized the decision, saying that the money belongs to all Iranians and not a small number of affluent individuals, who can afford the Hajj pilgrimage in the first place.
Norouzi, who is the vice-chairman of the Judicial and Legal Committee of the parliament, pointed to the country’s dire economic situation, calling the scheme "a definitely wrong move."
"This money belongs to the entire nation and should be spent for the sustainable goals of the Iranians,” he said. It is better “to spend the money on Tehran’s water, so that residents of the capital would not have to drink water contaminated by nitrate.”
The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- the holiest city for Muslims -- is a mandatory religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey. This year Hajj ceremonies will be held around late June through early July and the average price for Iranians to go to the journey is about $5,000, a rate set by the host country Saudi Arabia.
The key condition for the pilgrimage is physical and financial ability of the applicants. If the government is supposed to subsidize the journey, then it is not a real pilgrimage.
The Iranian government organizes and controls the Hajj pilgrimage, including paying Saudi Arabia in US dollars for the expenses of each traveler, and providing dollars to pilgrims to spend during their journey. But instead of charging each pilgrim the full amount based on high free market exchange rate, it provides these dollars at a low preferential rate, in effect subsidizing the pilgrimage.
However, the total amount of the subsidy would still be a tiny fraction of the $2.7 billion that is reportedly about to be unblocked, considering that the number of the pilgrims is at most 80,000 people. The total subsidy the government would spend on pilgrims this year will be around $200 million.
The question is how Iraq plans to release the $2.7 billion including whatever has been designated for pilgrims. Officials of all three countries are silent on the issue. If a few hundred million dollars is set aside for pilgrims, would it be transferred to Saudi Arabia as payment for expenses? Or cash dollars will be provided to the Iranian government, which would violate the purpose of US banking sanctions to begin with.
Multiple reports this week suggest the US is offering financial incentives to the Islamic Republic in exchange for Tehran slowing its production of enriched uranium. Late in May, Iran International ported that the United States was offering to release Iran’s funds held in Iraq and South Korea in exchange for Tehran to show more flexibility on issues related to its nuclear program, and the release of American dual nationals held hostage in Iran.
A week later, on June 7, Haaretz confirmed the report saying that the United States was offering to release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds — currently held by South Korea, Iraq, and the International Monetary Fund — in exchange for Iran limiting further production of high-enriched uranium.
Another report on June 8 by Middle East Eye (MEE) echoed much of Haaretz’s reporting but added that the administration would allow Iran to export an additional one million barrels of oil per day, which would likely require the president to issue a national security waiver.
Iranian and American officials have rejected the reports, but – according to The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) -- questions remain about whether an agreement may proceed without official text or notification to Congress, as required under existing law.
The head of the FDD, Mark Dubowitz, says: “The Biden administration hopes that Tehran will be more amenable to a ‘longer and stronger’ deal after getting major nuclear and economic concessions in exchange for a ‘shorter and weaker’ arrangement. This is an illusion. Iranian leaders understand power and leverage better than President Biden and his team do. The emerging ‘less for more’ deal is the worst deal of all.”
“The administration may be looking to evade congressional review by trading billions of dollars to Iran in exchange for a temporary halt to higher levels of enrichment, all without a written agreement or public acknowledgment. Paying Iran to sit patiently on the nuclear threshold won’t stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but it will subsidize attacks against Americans, Israelis, Ukrainians, and Iranians," said Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the FDD.