{Political: Al-Furat News} The Kurdistan Regional Government issued an angry statement regarding the decision of the Federal Supreme Court to prevent the federal government from sending money to the region.
The KRG said in its statement: “Unfortunately, the Federal Court renewed today its hostility to the rights and constitutional financial entitlements of the citizens of the Kurdistan Region. This new position of this court represents an affirmation of the continuation of its unjust and hostile policy towards the Kurdistan Region, and at a time when there is a positive atmosphere and rapprochement between the KRG and the federal government to reach an agreement and solve problems under the umbrella of the Constitution, it is regrettable that the court today, instead of supporting this positive atmosphere, prevented
“The Kurdistan Regional Government has sent delegations to Baghdad several times, and the recent visit resulted in fruitful discussions, as the two sides expressed their goodwill to solve problems under the constitution and the program agreed upon by the parties,” he added.
The statement pointed out that “the Kurdistan Region is a constitutional federal territory, and these decisions are a flagrant and clear violation of the Iraqi Constitution. It also contradicts the agreement of the state administration forces that formed the new government, and violates the ministerial curriculum approved by the House of Representatives, whose paragraphs clearly talked about (avoiding any escalatory measures). Therefore, we prepare the decision of the Federal Court not only against the Kurdistan Region, but also against the new Iraqi government and the parties that formed it, and it must take a clear and frank position towards the decisions and hostile behavior adopted by the Federal Court. As stated in the Iraqi government’s ministerial curriculum, all parties participating in the agreement must issue the Federal Court Law within six months, because under this current court, which was not established within the framework of the constitution, there is no chance of solving problems, and they will not happen.
He stressed that “the Kurdistan Region respects the Constitution, laws and courts that enjoy legitimacy, but this court was not formed and organized in accordance with the Constitution, and cannot decide on decisions as a federal court, and therefore we reject its decisions, and call on the federal government not to submit to this decision, and to fulfill the promises it made to send financial dues to the Kurdistan Region.”
Independent MP Mustafa Sanad announced today that the Federal Supreme Court issued a decision to cancel all decisions of the Council of Ministers in transferring funds to the Kurdistan region and considering it contrary to the law and the articles of the Constitution, noting that “the decision was issued on the basis of the lawsuit he filed before the Federal Court.”
The Secretary of State and the US ambassador discuss the upcoming visit to Washington
Time : 2023/01/25 22:15:27
Read: 1117 times
The Secretary of State and the US Ambassador to Iraq discuss the upcoming visit to Washington, the program of work and meetings to discuss political and economic issues and aspects related to the Iraqi and American currencies
Twilight News / A report by a US magazine revealed, on Wednesday, a “sudden but steady move” by Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani towards Washington by stressing the retention of US forces, and while it indicated that this position reflects the position of Iraqi officials, including former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, he stressed that Washington’s “possibility of
“Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani adjusted the balance towards the relationship with the United States, after his statement about the continued need for the presence of foreign forces in the country,” the American magazine “Foremen of Foreign Policy” said in a report translated by Twilight News, adding that “Iraq’s leaders have always affirmed behind closed doors, their adherence
Referring to the vote in the Iraqi parliament in 2020, the report quoted former US officials as saying that “the scene in Baghdad was then a state of clowning and meadow, where members of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah pushed for votes to collect just as US lawmakers do on Capitol Hill, but in Baghdad the situation indicated that there were a lot of
The report quoted former US Department of Defense official Jonathan Lorde, an assistant in Congress and serves as director of the Middle East Security Program at the New American Security Institute, as saying that “Hezbollah operatives were making phone calls and sending messages to a number of members of the House of Representatives threatening them and/or offering bribes, in order to vote in favor of
“There was a tremendous amount of coercion to move this vote in order to bring this decision to an end,” Lorde added.
But the report noted that the US presence, which had become attached to a “thin thread in Iraq,” through the fragile call of the Baghdad government, now seems to remain, “indefinite.”
“This conclusion emerged after Al-Sudani, in his first interview with a US media outlet last week, told the Wall Street Journal that he wanted to keep 2,000 American soldiers who are on the task of training Iraqi forces to fight ISIS,” saying, “We believe we need foreign forces … The elimination of ISIS needs more time.”
But the report considered that “despite the position of Al-Sudani in open support of the US mission in Iraq, something that has become increasingly limited since the announcement of defeat of ISIS in 2017, and that this position of Al-Sudani seems like a sudden shift, but it reflects a steady move towards Washington in recent years,” an implicit reference to the positions of Iraqi
In this context, the report quoted US officials as saying that “the heads of Iraqi government were behind closed doors, expressing their strong support for the military mission, including Adel Abdul Mahdi, who was in power during mutual confrontations between US forces and Iranian-backed forces, which culminated in a US air strike with a drone that killed the commander of the Iranian Quds Force Qassem
The report quoted a former senior Donald Trump administration official, who asked not to be named, as saying: “Every time the door was closed. The issue was (as if they were saying): We support you 100 percent, and we want American troops here, in order to ensure a continued defeat of ISIS, and also to counter Iranian influence.”
The former U.S. official added that “when the doors open, these issues are adjusted. Because they have to deal with their own history.”
The report pointed out that the United States was increasingly concerned about the extremism that was leaking from the war-torn country to other vulnerable countries, as ISIS spread from Syria to Iraq in 2014.
The report pointed out that “Sudani expressed in particular his concern about the possibility of a terrorist act carried out through the infiltration of a group returning to Iraq from inside Syria, as the organization still has hideouts in Anbar province, and showed indications that express its strength in the north, and also claimed responsibility for recent bombings near Baghdad.”
The report pointed out that “Sudani began using counter-terrorism forces to suppress dollar smuggling operations into Iran, another step likely to arouse satisfaction from policymakers in Washington, in addition to the Sudanese invitation to US President Joe Biden to visit Baghdad.”
“They have to strike a balance, but they also need the continued support of the United States,” the former senior Trump administration official told Iraqi officials, adding that “the United States is an auxiliary element in Iraq and is not trying to manipulate their political system or we have different loyalties to their militias and army, we are only there to make them more capable so that the common enemy
“The main motivation for changing the relationship was the possibility of more US aid and dollars entering through trade relations, to become more similar relations with Washington’s relations with the Gulf countries,” the report said.
He added that even as Al-Sudani’s statement maintains the US military mission, which the report pointed out was “undermined” by the fragile policies that worsened by the assassination of General Soleimani, he added that “experts are concerned about the lack of interest in the relationship between the United States and Iraq from within the Biden administration, which puts the Pen
But the report noted that “this situation may change,” explaining that “Sudani intends to send a delegation to Washington in February in an attempt to pave the way for a meeting with Biden later this year.”
“Sudani’s statement was controversial,” the report quoted by Lorde, of the New American Security Institute, as saying, adding, “I think the biggest problem for CENTCOM is that there seems to be no planning or vision about what the future of the US-Iraq relationship looks like, or what it should look like.”
Earth News / A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Ahmed Al-Heraki, revealed on Wednesday the role of US mediation in his relationship with the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
Al-Herki told Earth News that “regarding the partial relationship between the two parties in the region, as the ministerial team of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is still not participating in cabinet sessions, but the recent mediations, especially after McGurk’s visit to Erbil, there were some things that could constitute indicators of what will happen in the future.”
“The day after the meeting with the National Union and the Democratic Party, a statement was issued by the Political Bureau of the Democratic Party calling on its readiness for dialogue with the National Union as well regarding the election law and the need to hold it this year,” he added.
He pointed out that “the democrat announced his readiness to discuss these matters, and this development because he previously stressed the holding of elections in the old law, but now there is a kind of flexibility in agreement with the Union and all Kurdish political forces because other Kurdish parties also have observations regarding the Kurdistan region elections law.”
Al-Herky said that “an extraordinary session of the Kurdistan Parliament was likely to discuss the elections and the Commission and the mechanism of holding them no time next October,” noting that “the American mediation had a role in bringing the views of the two main parties closer.”
The US ambassador confirms that Washington continues a mechanism that took several years to strengthen the Iraqi banking sector to help it comply with the global system and ensure the prevention of money laundering and smuggling of the Iraqi people out of Iraq.
Wednesday 2023/01/25
Protests and popular rejection of the continued collapse of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar and fears of the expansion of poverty in the country
BAGHDAD – An Iraqi delegation is preparing to visit the United States to discuss the issue of the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, as revealed on Wednesday by the Islamic Supreme Council, one of the forces in the pro-Iranian coordination framework, while the Iraqi currency continues to collapse amid Iraqi fears of further deterioration of their purchasing power and the expansion of poverty in the oil country.
“A leading delegation from the Iraqi Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq will visit the United States of America in the coming days in order to discuss the policy of the US Federal Reserve and give an appropriate opportunity of time so that Iraqi banks can adapt and deal with the new banking system,” spokesman Ali Al-Def News told the Iraqi-Kurdish Agency.
This move comes a few days after the Central Bank Governor Mustafa Ghaleb was relieved of his post and Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq was assigned to replace him by proxy, in a move considered the culmination of efforts by the coordination framework to take over important positions in the state and the desire of some Shiite parties to get rid of the dismissed governor because of his efforts to confront
Al-Defani pointed out that “the issue of fighting corruption, money laundering and currency smuggling cannot be dealt with the stroke of a pen, but needs decisions and procedures,” stressing that “We support and support the fight against corruption and ending money laundering and currency smuggling operations from Iraq, but there must be a reasonable amount of time so that the Iraqi government can follow up and implement these measures.”
The US ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, stated that the United States does not determine the exchange rate of the dollar and has not put sanctions on new Iraqi banks, and stated in a television interview that “Washtten continues a mechanism that took several years to strengthen the Iraqi banking sector to help it comply with the global system and ensure the prevention of laundering and smuggling of the money
She pointed out that “these measures began two years ago with a gradual application by Iraqi banks in accordance with an agreement between the US Federal Bank and the Central Bank of Iraq,” adding that “they are designed to prevent and restrict money laundering because suspending or delaying them leads to the system backwards.”
The Iraqi dinar lost about 10 percent of its value after measures related to imposing compliance rules on the transactions of the Central Bank of Iraq with currency traders in relation to the US dollar. Iraqi banks are required to make dollar transfers on a new online platform and are then reviewed by the Federal Reserve Bank.
U.S. officials say the system aims to curb the use of the Iraqi banking system to smuggle dollars into Tehran, Damascus and money laundering havens across the Middle East.
The Iraqi currency crisis is one of the results of a US-Iranian conflict in the Iraqi arena under a US plan to besiege the flow of money from Iran to its proxies in the region, which Tehran and the Iraqi parties and militias loyal to it considered a US conspiracy.
On Wednesday, thousands of Iraqis from various provinces flocked to the capital Baghdad to protest against the decline in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar. In early transactions, the dollar exchange rate in local markets amounted to 1590 dinars, while the official exchange rate for citizens is 1470 dinars per one dollar. According to local Iraqi media, including the “Baghdad Today” agency, many opposition political parties and forces called for protesting in front of the Central Bank building to express popular rejection of the decline in exchange rates. Since the beginning of this year, the government and the Central Bank have taken a package of measures to increase the supply of the dollar in the local market, a decision that partially succeeded in resolving the crisis, but exchange rates remained low, and the exchange rate of the dollar last month in local markets reached 1,650 dinars, before currently falling below 1600 while remaining away from the official rate. Today, the “Baghdad Today” website quoted scenes and footage of streets on the outskirts of the capital witnessing an influx of citizens coming to protest. The purchasing power of Iraqis has been damaged by exchange differences in circulation and official ones, and in the meantime, the dollar is still witnessing fluctuation in its abundance and real fears of the Iraqi people of further deterioration of their living conditions in a country that is unable to do without materials imported from neighboring countries, the United States and China to provide its markets with their needs, making the rise in the dollar exchange rate a real predicament for traders and citizens.
Baghdad faces a major challenge to curb the spread of poverty that creeps on all governorates of the country. Despite the huge oil wealth, one in five people still lives below the poverty line in a country plagued by widespread corruption and high youth unemployment rates.
Twilight News / The demonstrations that took place on Wednesday morning continue, in front of the Central Bank of Iraq in the center of the capital Baghdad to demand the stability of the dollar exchange rate and save the dinar from collapse.
Pictures taken by Shafaq News showed hundreds of demonstrators forming human waves matched by security elements of law enforcement forces.
The demonstration began in the morning, with the participation of hundreds of Baghdad residents, as well as others from various Iraqi governorates, starting from Al-Rafi Square, to extend deep into Al-Rasheed Street opposite the Arab market, where the building of the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi government banks complex.
The nearly 800 protesters are close to the central bank building, which is heavily fortified by security forces.
A correspondent of Shafaq News Agency said that the organizing committee for demonstrations near the Central Bank called on the demonstrators to withdraw this afternoon, with a delegation sent to the Governor of the Central Bank to offer solutions with a specific time limit.
Demonstrators are demanding an end to speculation in dollar exchange rates, urgent economic measures to restore the dollar exchange rate within the official context and hold the corrupt accountable.
They also called on loudspeakers on Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani to “go out to the people” and announce realistic measures that alleviate the crisis and return prices to stability.
Demonstrators made saynical demands demanding the intervention of an artist in solving the issue “in accordance with her relations with politicians,” while some wrote on his banner that “politicians are the ones who cover up bank corruption and transfer companies.”
Today, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Interior revealed to Shafaq News that a number of “unapproved” banking offices and banks dealing with the process of selling dollars outside the controls of the Central Bank and indicated that these banks buy dollars at the official price from the auction of selling the currency and sell it outside the controls at a price higher than the specified price.
Since November 2022, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar has witnessed a gradual rise to reach its highest levels in recent days, as it exceeded the barrier of 165,000 dinars per 100 dollars.
(Political: Al-Furat News) Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani announced his intention to visit France, reiterating that “Iraq does not need foreign combat forces.”
Al-Sudani said: “We are in France and we all hope that this visit will be a good sign and to lay the right foundations for a sustainable partnership,” noting that “the Iraqi government today is more convinced of its vision to develop Iraq’s regional and international relations on the basis of cooperation and balance, move away from the policy of axes, and adopt the partnership
“The response of Baghdad and Paris to the common sense of the strategic importance of the relationship between our two countries prompted our government to show more keenness to develop that bilateral relationship and build on its solid foundations,” he added, noting that “France was the first to provide aid and participation in restoring Iraq’s territory, especially in the war to liberate Mosul from ISIS gangs.”
Al-Sudani stressed that “joint cooperation indicates a long-term strategic partnership between Baghdad and Paris,” stressing that “Iraq does not need foreign combat forces, but advisory forces to meet the needs of our forces of training and equipment, and that we always need to review the relationship with the international coalition and draw a map for future cooperation in light of the permanent development in the combat capabilities
He explained that his government “aims to make the best use of huge economic capabilities,” noting that “Iraq is OPEC’s second largest oil producer, and has one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world.”
He continued by saying that “giant companies such as Total Energies and Al-Stom are welcome to work in Iraq in the field of energy, such as the exploitation of associated gas, water injection in oil wells, the development of renewable energy production, as well as the “Metro Baghdad Suspended Project}.”
The prime minister said his government “intents to be a major driving force in regional diplomacy and political tracks,” adding, “We will continue our efforts to bring views closer between Tehran and Riyadh,” stressing that “cooperation between Paris and Baghdad has multiple aspects, extending to the health, educational, cultural and climate sector.”
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