Sanctions are being imposed on Baghdad; a report urges Trump to target those who sign “contracts” with the factions.
Over the years, the United States has imposed dozens of sanctions on leaders of armed factions, their companies and banks in Iraq, hoping to dry up their sources of funding and limit their influence within the country. DailyNews Reports
However, according to a report by the American ” Middle East Forum ,” translated by Shafaq News Agency, these sanctions have not achieved the goal for which they were created, because the problem no longer lies with the factions alone, but with the state institutions that continue to grant them contracts, funds, and legal cover.
The American report suggests that Washington is increasingly convinced that the current sanctions are insufficient, and that the next phase should target government officials who sign contracts and grant administrative approvals to entities subject to American sanctions.
The report places the General Engineers Company at the forefront of this system, stating that it represents the most important economic arm of the pro-Iranian armed factions. The company was established by a decision of the Iraqi Council of Ministers and received initial government funding of $76 million upon its founding, in addition to more than $305 million within its investment budget.
Despite the company being on US sanctions lists, the Iraqi government transferred more than 1.2 million acres of land on the Saudi border to it, and the Ministry of Communications awarded it a contract to build a fiber optic project, providing it with a financial resource and strategic influence in the communications sector, according to the report.
The matter is not limited to the engineer’s company, but extends to a wider economic network that includes tourism companies, restaurants, health resorts, universities, private schools and health centers, which – according to the report – are used as fronts for money laundering after the tightening of American control over the dollar window in the Central Bank of Iraq.
The report cites the example of Asaib Ahl al-Haq member Ali al-Shammari, saying that he uses his medical clinic as a front for money laundering, while his economic activities have become a platform for accessing political work and parliament.
The report argues that the US sanctions have created what it calls a “dual legitimacy system.” While Washington imposes international isolation on these entities, Iraqi state institutions continue to grant them legal legitimacy, contracts, and funds, making the sanctions symbolic abroad, while the influence of these networks remains intact within Iraq.
Based on this conviction, the report calls on the administration of President Donald Trump to completely change its strategy by targeting general managers, procurement officials, and government employees who sign contracts or grant administrative approvals to entities subject to sanctions, and not to be satisfied with blacklisting front companies or faction leaders.
It also proposes linking any future US economic or diplomatic assistance to Iraq to measurable reform measures, and bringing international forensic auditing firms into financial, customs and government procurement institutions.
The report concludes that dismantling the economic influence of the factions will not be achieved by sanctions alone, but by reforming the state institutions themselves, warning that maintaining the current situation will turn sanctions into a limited pressure tool, while networks linked to Tehran continue to invest Iraqi state resources to enhance their political and military influence.
Shafaq.com