July 2 - U.S. air deliveries of physical U.S. currency to Iraq have resumed after a multi-month suspension, two aides to Iraq's prime minister told the New York Times, according to statements cited by the newspaper.
"The dollar shipments to Iraq have resumed," Haider al-Aboudi, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister, told the newspaper. Mudhar Muhammad Salih, who advises the prime minister on financial matters, also confirmed the resumption of transfers, the report said.
Washington had earlier halted a planned shipment in April of about $500 million in cash bound for Iraq and suspended parts of its security cooperation with Baghdad. Those measures were taken as a means of pressuring the Iraqi government over the activities of Iran-backed militias, and the suspension in cooperation and funding for Iraq's security services remains in place, the report said.
Officials in Washington did not immediately provide comment. The White House, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours, according to the account.
The report notes Reuters was unable to immediately verify the New York Times account. The actions by the U.S. followed an escalation in fallout from the Iran war, with the U.S. attributing a series of attacks in Iraq - including repeated strikes on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and on the U.S. consulate in the Kurdistan region - to Iranian-backed militias.
The confirmations from the prime minister's aides indicate that at least some contractual or logistical channels for moving cash by air have been reactivated, even as broader security cooperation and funding arrangements remain suspended. The available information does not detail the volume or schedule of the resumed shipments beyond the aides' public confirmations.
The situation underscores a separation between restoration of specific cash transfers and the continued suspension of wider security support. The account also highlights the limits of public verification at this time, with U.S. departments not providing immediate comment and independent confirmation not yet obtained.
Summary of developments: U.S. air shipments of U.S. dollars to Iraq have resumed, Iraqi government aides told the New York Times. An April halt of a roughly $500 million shipment and suspension of parts of U.S.-Iraq security cooperation remain in effect. U.S. officials did not immediately comment, and independent verification was not available at the time of reporting.