Some sources say Washington raised the ceiling of its demands when it told Iraq to make a choice: to be with Washington or against it in matters regarding Iran and on normalisation with Israel and to bear the consequences of its decisions.
It seems clear that now is the moment of truth as it is time for Iraq to comply with American conditions as set out by US Ambassador Alina Romanowski and as discussed in Turkey and finalised in Washington.
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani has not hesitated to inform the leaders of the Coordination Framework that the honeymoon with the country’s Iranian neighbour is over. He warned that the time had come to jump from Tehran’s sinking ship, otherwise they would all drown because prevarication no longer works and everyone is under the microscope of Federal Reserve monitoring.
The political system in Iraq has come under the supervision of the US Treasury, whose decisions are more consequential than those of the State Department and the Pentagon.
Iran can no longer receive a single dollar from Iraq, while Iraqi banks that used to funnel dollars to Teheran are now threatened with closure and loss of assets.
Sudani told his audience that any attempt to circumvent US restrictions would amount to playing with fire. The decision has become binding and may go beyond the economy to affect the political system in its entirety. “If you want to remain in power, you must abide by the decisions of the US Treasury and cancel your demands for the departure of US forces from Iraq, otherwise the political earthquake is inevitably coming.”
In the meeting, which included the leaders of the Coordination Framework and was scheduled to discuss the new political and economic realities, everyone remained silent as they listened to Sudani’s speech and his admission that conditions have been set by America and that acceptance of such conditions is unavoidable.
Some were tempted to suggest evading the restrictive conditions even if Iraqis would have to pay the price. But Sudani’s facial expression indicated that the matter had become a reality that had to be recognised.
When the meeting ended everyone seemed to accept the terms of surrender. The first indication was the signing of a contract with the US company General Electric Company to develop the electricity sector. The signing took place in front of the US Ambassador, Alina Romanowski. Will the German company Siemens still have a role in Iraq’s energy sector?
Iraq is now under American tutelage. This is how the Coordination Framework understood the message. There is no escape from the matter and this is what Sudani’s speech was suggesting, according to some sources.
“Dear Framework members, the transfer of US dollars to our eastern neighbour is no longer an option, whether you like it or not,” the prime minister is reported to have said at the end of his address to the assembled leaders of the Framework Coalition. He warned them that the power in their hands could be slipping quickly.
Time after time the US has imposed its fateful decisions on leaders of the Coordination Framework which is represented by the current government headed by Sudani. Washington knew what it was doing all along when it agreed to the formation of a Framework government close to Tehran.
Iran can no longer receive a single dollar from Iraq, while Iraqi banks that used to supply Tehran with dollars are no longer able to circumvent the strict US control system. Currency smuggling had prompted Iran to open its borders and crossings to facilitate and encourage the entry of dollars without any obstacles.
Some sources say Washington raised the ceiling of its demands when it told Iraq to make a choice: to be with Washington or against it in matters regarding Iran and on normalisation with Israel and to bear the consequences of its decisions.
As they live through interesting times, Iraqis can see the wonders and oddities of politics. And they wonder today where Iraq is exactly heading.
Source : Thearabweekly