News Posted by Tishwash at TNT Tuesday 4-21-2026

TNT:

Tishwash:  Venezuela Replaces Central Bank President Days After Sanctions Lifted

 Key Points

—Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced Thursday that Laura Guerra Angulo — a Maduro family relative who had led the BCV since April 2025 — resigned and was replaced by Vice President Luis Pérez, a career central bank technocrat

—The leadership change came just two days after OFAC General License 57 lifted sanctions on the BCV and three state banks, unlocking approximately US$1 billion in frozen oil revenue and reconnecting Venezuela to the SWIFT international payments system

—Multiple analysts had flagged the governance overhaul as a precondition for IMF reintegration, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly endorsed at the IMF Spring Meetings this week link

Tishwash:  Washington has halted dollar shipments to Iraq until a new Iraqi government is formed

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hadath TV quoted American sources as saying that Washington has decided to halt dollar shipments to Iraq until a new Iraqi government is formed.

Iraq periodically receives shipments of its oil sales proceeds in dollars from the US Federal Reserve, to which these funds are transferred every two months, as part of an Iraqi-American agreement to protect Iraqi funds from claims by international creditors.

Washington is pressing hard to prevent the formation of an Iraqi government loyal to Iran, and US President Donald Trump has officially announced his opposition to the nomination of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

 Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani publicly visited Iraq just two days before a planned meeting tonight of the coordination framework to nominate the name of the new prime minister. link

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Tishwash:  Parliament preempts the decision on the prime ministerial candidate... Rashid: There will be no budget for the current year, 2026.

The Iraqi Parliament has settled the debate regarding the fate of the draft federal budget law for the current year, 2026, amidst the ongoing crisis surrounding the nomination of a candidate for the position of Prime Minister, a matter on which political and parliamentary circles are still awaiting a resolution.

MP Ahmed Hama Rashid stated to the Iraqi National News Agency ( NINA ), "There is no budget for the current year, 2026, because the draft budget law must be prepared by mid-May 2025. Therefore, there will be no budget law for the current year."

He explained, "Financial statements will be issued by the Ministry of Finance and sent to the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, and then approved by Parliament later."

He added, "The amended Federal Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019 addresses this situation to facilitate the annual budget by disbursing expenditures at a rate of 1/12 of all expenditures included in the previous budget. This is a legal procedure that is in practice and adopted by Iraqi state institutions."

Regarding the approval of the final accounts, Rashid explained that "these accounts will be based on official financial statements sent to the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, for preparation, auditing, and reconciliation." link

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Tishwash:  The need to restore Iraq's political and economic independence by settling oil revenues in currencies other than the dollar.

Karim Al-Araj, expert and consultant in international economics

Since 2004, due to US sanctions, Iraq has been unable to independently benefit from its oil revenues. With the start of the war between Iran and the United States, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the imposition of restrictions on oil exports, Iraq can regain its political and economic independence by breaking out of the petrodollar cycle and selling its oil in currencies other than the dollar, for example, settling it in yuan.

Iraq is among the world's largest producers and exporters of crude oil. It possesses over 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, ranking fifth after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Iran.

In addition, it produces approximately 4.4 million barrels of oil per day, ranking sixth among crude oil producers, and with exports of 3.6 million barrels, it ranks fifth among the world's exporters of this product. Annual revenue from these oil exports is estimated at around $110 billion; however, this revenue is indirectly transferred through the Federal Reserve to the Iraqi government and people.

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on the country and, in Resolution 986, established the Oil-for-Food Program for Iraq. Under this resolution, Iraq was permitted to export its petroleum products, but the proceeds were deposited into an account at the United States Federal Reserve to be used for importing food and medicine.

 Following the occupation of Iraq in 2003 and the formation of the Coalition Provisional Government led by the United States within the framework of the multinational forces in that country, the United States effectively assumed, based on Security Council Resolution 1483 of May of the same year, the executive, legislative and judicial responsibilities of the Iraqi government until June 28, 2004. According to Resolution 1483, the Coalition Provisional Government was responsible for managing the Development Fund for Iraq, which in turn replaced the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme.

 Among the tasks of this fund were financing reconstruction, meeting the food and medical needs of the Iraqi people, providing equipment for the security forces, paying the salaries of civilian employees, and covering the expenses of various ministries in the country. However, after the drafting of the constitution and the formation of the Iraqi government in 2007, the United States continued to monitor the fund's revenue sources under various pretexts, such as combating insurgency, al-Qaeda, and terrorism financing.

Based on this, since 2003, the United States has used this tool to control Iraqi oil revenues through its central bank, charging the Iraqi government for this service. This has resulted in the US government effectively controlling Iraq's political and economic independence, forcing the country to spend its oil revenues on imports instead of directing them toward development.

Last month, on February 26, 2026, a war broke out between Iran and the United States in the West Asia region (the Middle East). This attack, imposed on Iran under the pretext of combating nuclear weapons, led to Iran's strategic closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than 20 percent of the world's oil depends, thus depriving Iraq of its ability to export its oil. Although this event represents a significant loss for the Iraqi government, given that 90 percent of its revenues depend on this source, it also presents a historic opportunity for the Iraqi government and people to sell their oil in currencies other than the dollar, such as the yuan, thereby ending US political and economic hegemony over Iraq and restoring its political and economic independence.

Based on this, the Iraqi government can take advantage of this opportunity by moving out of the cycle of selling oil in dollars and converting it to other currencies, for example, the yuan, and thus take an important step towards developing Iraq and restoring its political and economic independence. link

Tishwash:  Abu Dhabi hints at using the yuan if the dollar becomes scarce due to the regional crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates has begun talks with the United States about obtaining a financial safety net in case a war with Iran leads to a deeper liquidity crisis in the oil-rich Gulf state, according to US officials.

The newspaper quoted officials as saying that "Khaled Mohammed Balama, the governor of the UAE Central Bank, raised the idea of ​​establishing a currency swap line with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bisent and officials from the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve during meetings held in Washington last week."

The officials added that "the Emirati side stressed during the talks that it has so far avoided the worst economic effects of the conflict, but it may need financial support if the situation worsens."

The newspaper said, "These talks showed the UAE's concern that the war would cause significant damage to its economy and its status as a global financial center, by depleting its foreign reserves and raising concerns among investors who considered it a stable and safe destination for their money."

She added that "the conflict has damaged the UAE's infrastructure in the oil and gas sectors, and disrupted its ability to sell oil using tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz, depriving it of a major source of dollar revenues."

According to officials, "UAE officials have not submitted a formal request to establish a currency swap line, an arrangement that would allow the UAE Central Bank to access dollars at a low cost to support the currency or boost its foreign exchange reserves in the event of a liquidity crisis."

US officials explained that "the Emiratis presented the idea during recent talks as a preliminary and precautionary proposal."

Some officials added that "the Emirati side argued that Trump's decision to attack Iran had plunged his country into a devastating conflict whose effects may not yet be over."

They said that "Emirati officials informed their American counterparts that if the UAE faced a shortage of dollars, it might have to use the Chinese yuan or other currencies in oil sales and other transactions  link