Wednesday Iraq News Posted by Tishwash at TNT 5-27-2026
TNT:
Tishwash: Rule of law: There is no longer enough time to send the 2026 budget
Ali Al-Azirjawi, a member of the State of Law Coalition, said that there is no longer enough time to send the 2026 budget.
Al-Azirjawi added that it is necessary to resort to preparing an "emergency plan similar to the Food Security Law that is quickly agreed upon to ensure the continued operation of the government and ministries in an organized and rational manner."
He added that "adopting an emergency plan is a realistic option in light of the current challenges," noting "the importance of expediting the vote on it within the Cabinet and then approving it so that it can take its executive role as quickly as possible."
Al-Azirjawi explained that "Iraq faces a number of economic challenges, most notably the size of its internal and external debt, which requires serious solutions, in addition to security challenges and regional tensions that further complicate the overall situation." link
Tishwash: Double salaries are straining the budget; an economist warns against printing money and calls for urgent austerity measures.
Economic expert Hashim al-Haboubi warned the government on Sunday of the dangers of continuing to print local currency, stressing that it will deplete the country's strategic reserves of gold and hard currency. He called for the implementation of an urgent package of financial reforms, spearheaded by strict government austerity measures.
Al-Haboubi told the Information Agency that "printing local currency will have dire consequences, primarily a decline in the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar against foreign currencies, especially the dollar."
He added that "this step will deplete sovereign reserves, which currently stand at approximately 147 tons of gold and $114 billion, in addition to funds deposited with the US Federal Reserve." He urged the government to "implement a strict austerity policy, beginning with eliminating unnecessary expenditures."
He explained that "the state treasury spends 142 billion dinars monthly on the Presidency, in addition to the presence of more than 300 advisors in the Prime Minister's office – figures that strain the country's budget."
He emphasized that "the first steps toward genuine reform lie in unifying the salary system and preventing dual employment."
Al-Haboubi pointed out that "there are more than 20,000 people receiving multiple salaries per month, and some even receive up to nine salaries simultaneously." link
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Tishwash: Parliamentary Finance Committee: We await a decisive report on the financial situation following the decline in oil exports.
Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Omar al-Karawi, confirmed on Sunday that his committee is awaiting a crucial report from the Ministry of Finance outlining the country's financial situation, given Baghdad's reduced capacity to export more than 90% of its crude oil.
Al-Karawi told Al-Maalouma that "the Parliamentary Finance Committee expects a highly important report from the Ministry of Finance, after the Eid al-Adha holiday, clarifying the overall financial situation, the extent of the existing challenges, and the currently proposed solutions to ensure the continued payment of salaries and other essential expenditures."
He explained that "treasury revenues have decreased by more than 90% with the cessation of the majority of crude oil exports, due to the current situation in the Arabian Gulf," indicating that "the Ministry of Finance's report will provide a comprehensive picture of the nature of the challenges and problems, and the possible solutions for addressing them."
He added that "the assessments will then be more realistic and objective in diagnosing the magnitude of the financial crisis in Iraq," noting that "the next phase requires the adoption of a clear strategy by Ali al-Zaidi's government to increase revenues, particularly non-oil revenues."
Al-Karawi stressed that “the recent crisis has underscored the necessity of creating a diversified economy capable of withstanding disruptions and crises, by boosting non-oil revenues and reducing reliance on oil as the sole source of funding.” link
Tishwash: Al-Zaydi's government: Opens the file on frozen funds to integrate factions; the decision restswith Washington.
May 26, 2026 - 11:43 PM
An informed source revealed on Tuesday that the government of Ali al-Zaidi intends to address Washington to release part of Iraq’s frozen funds in some international banks to cover the allocations for the elements of the factions that will be integrated into the directorates of the Popular Mobilization Forces and some security and military ministries.
According to the source, who spoke to Shafaq News Agency, integrating the members of the armed factions who agreed to hand over their weapons to the government and join the government institution requires large financial allocations compared to their numbers, which exceed 800,000 people.
The source explained that most factions agreed to hand over weapons, with the exception of the Al-Nujaba Movement and the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades.
According to the source, the issue of releasing frozen funds does not only include funds in Washington banks, but also in some European countries. If Washington agrees to Iraq’s request, the remaining banks in other countries will certainly agree to release the frozen Iraqi funds.
According to the source, significant changes will affect the Popular Mobilization Forces after the completion of the process of integrating the factions’ elements and sorting its directorates according to the approved structure of the institution, the most important of which is replacing the head of the body with an alternative candidate, “Ali Mayah Al-Zaydi”, in the event that “Abu Fadak” is not approved as a replacement for Al-Fayyad.
The source concluded that “meetings between the leaders of the coordination framework are continuing to resolve the issue of armed factions outside the official state framework.”
Recently, disagreements have escalated within the Coordination Framework forces regarding the American proposal to disarm the factions and dissolve or integrate the Popular Mobilization Forces.
An informed government source had previously revealed that some political forces and armed factions had shown “flexibility” regarding the issue of restricting weapons to the state, after having been rigid on this matter, indicating that the process of handing over weapons would be within a specific timeframe.
Prior to that, an informed source had revealed to Shafaq News Agency on May 9 that the Coordination Framework had agreed with Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi to form a committee tasked with disarming armed factions, coinciding with the call made by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr.
On May 15, Nazim al-Saidi, head of the executive council of the al-Nujaba Movement, one of the most prominent armed factions, confirmed that the “weapons control” clause included in the new government’s program does not include “resistance weapons” but rather those that cause “chaos.” ink