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Source: https://jcfa.org/iraq-irans-last-financial-lifeline/
Iraq: Iran's Last Financial Lifeline
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Aviram Bellaishe - Iraq constitutes a primary revenue generation center for Iran - the source of $8-12 billion annually. The militias in Iraq are not merely Iranian proxies - they are autonomous organizations with their own economic, political, and criminal interests. The Popular Mobilization Forces' (PMF) $3.4 billion budget comes from the Iraqi treasury. American and Israeli interests are aligned about strangling Iran's economic lung in Iraq indefinitely. The U.S. possesses significant yet underutilized financial leverage over Iraq. Iraqi government holdings exceed $100 billion in American financial institutions, and Iraq's dollar-dependent economy cannot function without access to the Federal Reserve's foreign currency auction. Budgetary transparency in the PMF, sanctions on smuggling infrastructure, and support for alternative energy corridors - all serve American and Iraqi interests regardless of the regime's fate in Tehran. Strengthening the Iraqi state at the expense of the militias is a worthy objective in its own right. The assumption that Iraqi public opinion uniformly supports Iranian influence contradicts available evidence. A Gallup survey found that 86% of Iraqis, including 83% of Iraqi Shia, view Iranian influence negatively. The writer, Senior Director for Security, Diplomacy, and Communications at the Jerusalem Center, has served in senior government positions for over 25 years.