“Tidbits From TNT” Monday 1-26-2026
TNT:
Tishwash: International trade: Iraq has transformed into a safe and attractive environment for investment.
The International Trade Centre confirmed on Monday that Iraq has taken concrete and effective steps in modernizing its trade and investment framework through customs reforms.
Eric Bochot, the center’s program director in Iraq, told the official newspaper, as reported by Dijlah News, that “the ongoing reforms in customs, investment frameworks, trade facilitation, and the promotion of transparency, predictability, and efficiency for economic actors have contributed to improving the overall business environment.”
Bushout noted that as these reforms continue, the interest of regional and international partners is growing, with cautious but positive expectations of increased trade, investment, and private sector participation in the coming years. link
Tishwash: The House of Representatives sets the date for the session to elect the President of the Republic.
The House of Representatives has set next Tuesday as the date for the session to elect the President of the Republic.
We still need the official agenda though link
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Tishwash: Savaya met with the framework leaders and delivered Trump's message to them.
On Monday, Amer Al-Fayez, a leader in the Coordination Framework and head of the Tasmeem bloc, revealed that Trump’s envoy, Mark Savaya, met with the framework’s leaders individually, noting that he delivered clear messages to them rejecting the Trump administration’s refusal to grant any high-ranking position in the government and parliament to figures affiliated with one of the Iraqi factions.
The winner said, in a statement followed by Al-Masalla, that “the envoy of the American president, Mark Savaya, conveyed a message written in English as a representative of Trump, which included the American government’s disapproval of the presence of armed factions or the like, and therefore its rejection of one of them assuming the position of deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.”
He added that Savaya “conveyed this message to some of the framework leaders individually, meeting with each one separately and explaining its contents to them over the past two days before he left.”
The winner explained that the coordination framework confirmed that “this matter is not within their (the Americans’) rights, as we are a fully sovereign and independent state, and this is an internal matter,” noting that “the message included an objection to the deputy speaker of parliament being from the factions.”
The head of the parliamentary design bloc warned that “the coordination framework will form a delegation or send a counter-message to inquire about the reason for the objection, given that the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament is a civilian position.”
The winner suggested that “the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement may not participate in the next government due to regional developments, and not out of a desire to move towards the opposition,” denying that Iraq had received “any official threat from Washington regarding cutting off the dollar.” link
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Tishwash: Iraq faces its toughest test yet: US threats to cut off oil revenues plunge the country into a complex crisis.
Abbas al-Jubouri, head of the Al-Rafid Center for Political and Strategic Studies, warned on Sunday (January 25, 2026) of serious repercussions that the Iraqi state may face if political forces proceed with including armed factions in the next government formation, in light of clear American threats to cut off or restrict the revenues of Iraqi oil sales deposited in the United States.
Al-Jubouri told Baghdad Today that “activating this threat is not just a symbolic or political measure, but rather a very dangerous economic pressure tool, given that Iraq relies primarily on the American financial system to pass its oil revenues, which makes the national economy vulnerable to severe shocks that may affect salaries, service projects, cash reserves, as well as the stability of the dinar exchange rate.”
He explained that “the United States views the issue of involving armed factions in the government from an angle related to regional security and adherence to governance standards, and that any step that may be interpreted as legitimizing weapons outside the framework of the state may prompt Washington to take punitive financial measures, including freezing assets or imposing strict banking restrictions.”
He added that “Iraq today faces a very delicate sovereign test, which is to balance the requirements of internal political agreements with the international obligations imposed by the global financial system,” warning that ignoring this balance “may put the country in direct confrontation with the international community, and bring back scenarios of economic isolation and undeclared sanctions.”
Al-Jubouri stressed that “the solution does not lie in escalation or defiance, but rather in adopting a clear governmental approach based on restricting weapons to the state, strengthening the independence of political decision-making, and reassuring international partners that the next government will be run according to the logic of the state and institutions, not the logic of axes and external loyalties.”
He concluded by saying that “any tampering with oil revenues, which represent more than 90% of the state’s resources, will place the greatest burden on the Iraqi citizen,” calling on political forces to prioritize the national interest and realize that economic stability is organically linked to political and security stability.
The Associated Press published earlier on Saturday (January 24, 2026) a report by the India Times network, confirming that the United States had begun threatening Iraq with economic strangulation by preventing access to the dollar, following Washington’s control of Venezuelan oil and the start of its marketing in global markets.
The agency stated, according to what was translated by "Baghdad Today", that the American threats to impose direct economic sanctions on the Iraqi government and prevent the flow of dollars are unprecedented in Washington's dealings with its Iraqi partner, noting that the American position witnessed a remarkable shift after its control over Venezuelan oil.
The agency suggested that the new American hardening towards Iraq stems from Washington’s conviction that it can control the global oil market and prevent any price increases in the event of a halt in Iraqi exports, by compensating for them with Venezuelan oil, a scenario that could materialize if the United States proceeds to prevent the dollar from reaching Iraq.
The agency noted that the United States issued direct threats to the Iraqi government, vowing to impose comprehensive economic sanctions on the government itself, rather than targeting individuals or institutions, in addition to causing what it described as a “dollar famine” inside Iraq, in the event that armed factions participate in the next government formation.
The recent US threats to Iraq come in the context of a broader political-economic escalation led by Washington to rearrange the global energy market, after tightening its control over Venezuelan oil and beginning to market it as a possible alternative to oils coming from countries subject to complex political calculations.
Iraq relies heavily on the dollar-based international financial system to manage its oil revenues and finance its general budget, making any restrictions on dollar access a highly influential tool of pressure on the country’s economic and financial stability. link
Mot . Say!!! -- Will da Snow Storm Beee Like Dis????
Mot: . Good morning have a good day. Stay warm!!
