Political circles are talking about faction leaders who are obstructing the easing of US conditions

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[size=52]Political circles are talking about faction leaders who are obstructing the easing of US conditions on the dollar[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]It seems, according to political circles, that some participants in the government hold Baghdad to reach an agreement with Washington to ease restrictions on the dollar.[/size]
[size=45]Until yesterday, the Iraqi and American statements did not show a clear position on the results of the round of dialogue that ended last week.[/size]
[size=45]During the talks, documents were leaked about the demands of the US Congress to reveal the legal position of some Iraqi politicians, including officials in important financial centers.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, the Central Bank confirmed in a statement that it is committed to the standards of “fighting money laundering” and “terrorist financing.”[/size]
[size=45]And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the Iraqi-American dialogue round, had previously mentioned “the continuation of technical meetings between specialists.”[/size]
[size=45]Until now, the parallel dollar market is still selling hard currency between 1500 and 1520 in some stock exchanges, while the government had set it at 1300 dinars.[/size]
[size=45]Informed political circles say in an interview with (Al-Mada) that «the list of Iraqi politicians and officials on the US Treasury's sanctions list is the one that hinders reaching an agreement on dollar releases».[/size]
[size=45]According to those circles, the United States finds it difficult to ease restrictions on the dollar, “with the presence of these personalities, including the leaders of factions participating in the government, in addition to the continued flow of hard currency to Iran, Syria and other countries.”[/size]
[size=45]Those circles added, "These personalities are accused of smuggling the dollar, and the US treasury cannot deal with them, their parties, or their economic facades in any way."[/size]
[size=45]Activists, with the help of Iraqi personalities residing in the United States, had earlier submitted a preliminary list consisting of "50 politicians and armed faction leaders out of 240" to the legislative and executive departments in America, on the grounds of accusations of human rights violations and the killing of October demonstrators.[/size]
[size=45]Over the past three years, the US Treasury has sanctioned faction leaders and Faleh al-Fayyad, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, who is the first high-ranking official to be sanctioned, on charges of his involvement in serious human rights violations.[/size]
[size=45]And the US Treasury stated at the time in 2021 that the sanctions include confiscating all of Al-Fayyad’s property and personal interests in the United States, and banning any entities that he owns 50% of its share or that he and others own directly or indirectly.[/size]
[size=45]US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at the time, "Politicians allied with Iran, such as Faleh al-Fayyad, are waging a violent campaign against democracy in Iraq by directing and supervising the killing of peaceful Iraqi demonstrators."[/size]
[size=45]Mnuchin stressed that the United States will continue to hold accountable human rights violators in Iraq who seek to prevent the Iraqi people from peaceful protest, achieve justice and root out corruption.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, at that time, the National Security Adviser, Qassem Al-Araji, called for amending the mistake that Washington had made by punishing Al-Fayyad, according to a statement.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Araji said in a tweet on Twitter: "We call on the US Treasury to correct its mistake (...) regarding an Iraqi government figure. It is not correct for her to be on the sanctions lists."[/size]
[size=45]In January 2020, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Faleh al-Fayyad of being among those who "plotted the attack on our country's embassy in Baghdad."[/size]
[size=45]However, Al-Fayyad denied his participation, along with other leaders of the "crowd", such as Qais Khazali and Hadi Al-Amiri, in the protest in front of the US embassy, ​​which ended with its storming.[/size]
[size=45]At the end of 2019, the United States had imposed sanctions against three faction leaders due to accusations of opening fire on the protests.[/size]
[size=45]The US Treasury said at the time, "The three are Laith al-Khazali and his brother Qais al-Khazali, leaders of the League of the Righteous, and Hussein Faleh al-Lami, the security official in the Popular Mobilization Forces."[/size]
[size=45]But Qais Khazali at the time mocked his name on the US sanctions list, and said in front of a gathering of his supporters at the end of 2019: "They were too late. They were supposed to give us this honor a long time ago."[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, information was leaked at the time that Faleh al-Lami - who is the third person on the sanctions list issued in 2019 - had been sent "in a training course with the army" outside Iraq, and at a later time it was rumored that he had returned with the coordination framework taking over the government with a high military rank.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Lami, known as “Abu Zainab Al-Lami,” is responsible for security in the Popular Mobilization Forces, and he was a member of the Kata’ib Hezbollah group.[/size]
[size=45]Congressional letters[/size]
[size=45]Meanwhile, during the round of negotiations held last week between the Iraqi and American delegations, a message from the US Congress to President Joe Biden was leaked, inquiring about several Iraqi personalities and officials.[/size]
[size=45]The letter (Al-Madda' could not verify its authenticity) demanded that the United States review its policy towards Iraq, especially since its government continues to align itself with the Iranian regime.[/size]
[size=45]And she added that at the beginning of 2023, "Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani and his government held ceremonies throughout Iraq to commemorate the death of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani."[/size]
[size=45]The letter indicated that "the time has come for the United States to clearly inform the danger of the Iraqi government's alliance with Iran."[/size]
[size=45]Long walk[/size]
[size=45]It was expected that the Iraqi delegation, during its visit to Washington, would get an easing of the restrictions, or a delay in implementing them, at least until next summer.[/size]
[size=45]Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Center for Political Thinking, said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that "the position on the negotiations has been murky so far, despite the hasty statements from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry and the Central Bank."[/size]
[size=45]The Foreign Ministry said in a statement the day before yesterday, Friday, that "Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his accompanying delegation met with Deputy US Treasury Secretary Wali Adeyo, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Elizabeth and senior ministry officials concerned with Iraq and the Middle East."[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi delegation indicated, according to the statement, that “the measures of the government and the Central Bank in developing and reforming monetary policy, and the government’s priority in promoting investment and trade, diversifying energy sources, and facing current challenges at the monetary and banking levels, and what these measures reflect in terms of reforming the banking system by combating corruption and money laundering, and the importance of The continuation of technical meetings between specialists in this aspect.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shammari believes, "According to the American positions and the atmosphere of the negotiations, it takes more negotiations, which may take a long time before we reach tangible results."[/size]
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