Iraqi Government Ignores Parliamentary Calls for Reverting Currency Devaluation

A general view of cars at the Al-Shurja Market in Baghdad, Iraq April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
A general view of cars at the Al-Shurja Market in Baghdad, Iraq April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
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Iraqi Government Ignores Parliamentary Calls for Reverting Currency Devaluation

A general view of cars at the Al-Shurja Market in Baghdad, Iraq April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
A general view of cars at the Al-Shurja Market in Baghdad, Iraq April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

The Iraqi government announced that it is not compelled to heed parliamentary calls for reverting the national currency devaluation adopted by the Central Bank of Iraq three months ago.

Dozens of Iraqi lawmakers have started collecting signatures for a petition to restore the currency to its exchange rate of 1,200 dinars per dollar.

While the government, economists and financial experts have defended increasing the exchange rate to 1,450 dinars per dollar as part of a national reform plan, lawmakers are arguing that the move has weighed heavily on the country’s poor.

Opportunist merchants have taken advantage of the devaluation and skyrocketed the prices of basic commodities.

For that reason, lawmakers are accusing the government of failure in implementing effective policies that protect the economically destitute and regulate prices at markets.

Nevertheless, the Iraqi government is sticking to its decision and maintaining that the central bank, not parliament, has exclusive authority over the national currency’s valuation.

Iraqi Culture Minister Hasan Nazim, in an official statement on Monday, acknowledged that parliament can change the dinar’s valuation, but also said the government will not be bound by the modification.

“It is up to parliament to approve or amend the budget,” said Nazim, adding that the government has fulfilled its part concerning the general financial plan.

“The government can help facilitate matters, offer explanations and engage in negotiations regarding some issues in question,” he noted.

The Iraqi parliament has, on four different occasions, failed to pass the budget for 2021.

At first, dispute with the Kurdistan Region blocked passing the financial plan. Now, dozens of parliamentarians from different political blocs set restoring the dollar exchange rate to 1,200 dinars as a condition for passing the budget.



Israeli Fire Kills 12 People in Gaza, Medics Say

 A plume of smoke rises during an Israeli strike on Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
A plume of smoke rises during an Israeli strike on Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Fire Kills 12 People in Gaza, Medics Say

 A plume of smoke rises during an Israeli strike on Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
A plume of smoke rises during an Israeli strike on Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on June 13, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli fire and airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians on Sunday across the enclave, local health authorities said, at least five of them near two aid sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Medics at Al-Awda Hospital in the central Gaza Strip said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire as they tried to approach a GHF site near the Netzarim corridor. Two others were killed en route to another aid site in Rafah in the south.

An airstrike killed seven other people in Beit Lahia town north of the enclave, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May after Israel partially lifted a near three-month total blockade. Scores of Palestinians have been killed in near-daily mass shootings trying to reach the food.

The United Nations rejects the Israeli-backed new distribution system as inadequate, dangerous, and a violation of humanitarian impartiality principles.