Iraq pushes Washington to release roughly $30 billion in frozen Saddam-era funds

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's government has opened a diplomatic push to secure the release of approximately $30 billion in financial guarantees frozen since the Saddam Hussein era, according to a report by Al-Sharq al-Awsat. A source familiar with the matter said the file was set to be raised during Prime Minister Ali Zeydi's visit to Washington but failed to advance because the U.S. administration did not secure congressional approval. According to the source, Washington has tied the release of the funds to two conditions: the completion of efforts to consolidate weapons under state control and the entry of American investment companies into Iraq. The account outlines a linkage between longstanding legal-financial disputes from the previous regime and current U.S. policy conditions on arms and investment access. The diplomatic impasse comes as Iraq faces severe fiscal strain. Finance Minister Falah al-Sari said monthly salary obligations have reached roughly 7.8 trillion Iraqi dinars, while government spokesperson Haidar al-Aboudi noted that monthly spending has climbed to 10.8 trillion dinars against oil revenues of just 2.5 trillion dinars. The shortfall has already delayed public-sector and pension payments, and Iraqi officials are pressing Washington to unlock the frozen guarantees to ease liquidity pressures on the state budget.