Iraq Loses $60 Billion Due to Middle East War
Foreign Minister Fawzi Hussein announces severe economic losses for Iraq due to the war and declining oil exports.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
Iraq has lost approximately $60 billion since the outbreak of the Middle East war and the sharp decline in its oil revenues due to disruptions in navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Iraq has been grappling with an economic crisis since the war began in February, as its oil exports, which account for 90% of its revenue, plummeted for several months, forcing the government to borrow domestically. Consumer prices have risen, and foreign currency reserves have dropped by about $20 billion.
During a meeting in Rome with his Italian counterpart on Thursday evening, Hussein noted that “Iraq incurred losses estimated at around $60 billion during the recent war between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to a statement issued by his office.
Before the war, Iraq, an OPEC member, produced approximately four million barrels of oil per day, exporting about 3.5 million of them, mostly from the south via the Strait of Hormuz.
However, since the start of the war, Iran has restricted navigation in the vital waterway for global energy supplies, forcing Iraq to halt production at most of its fields after storage tanks filled up, and to resort to limited exports via Syria using tanker trucks and through Turkey via pipeline.
Following a sharp decline in Iraqi oil exports, they recently rebounded to reach 2.6 million barrels per day between September 1 and 21, according to the Ministry of Oil.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted this week that Iraq is among the countries most affected by transport disruptions caused by the war.
As the economic crisis worsened, the Central Bank of Iraq raised the official exchange rate for the US dollar last week for the first time in over three years.
Iraq relies heavily on foreign currency generated from oil sales to finance imports, stabilize the dinar, and pay the salaries of public sector employees and retirees, who make up about 20% of the population, which exceeds 46 million.
