Shirwan Du-Bardani, a member of the Security and Defense Commission of the Iraqi parliament, said in an exclusive interview with Iran International that after the intensification of Washington’s economic pressures on Tehran, Iraq has become the only remaining route for the Islamic Republic to access dollars.

Du-Bardani said: “The smuggling of dollars from Iraq to Iran, or to any other destination, continues.”

He also said that regarding the possibility of the United States imposing sanctions on Iraq, for about a month Washington has stopped the transfer of dollars to Baghdad and at the same time the value of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar has increased.

This Iraqi parliament member also emphasized that the United States is serious about the issue of controlling militias and armed groups outside the framework of the law, and does not show leniency in this regard. According to him, if the Baghdad government cannot bring the weapons of armed groups under control and implement the principle of exclusive weapons in the hands of the state, the likelihood of broad U.S. sanctions against Iraq—even in the oil sector—exists.