Iraq says weapons control is key to protecting financial ties with world
BAGHDAD – Failure to bring weapons under the control of the Iraqi state could expose the country to greater international pressure, while any US sanctions could threaten salaries, debt payments and the wider economy, a member of parliament’s Finance Committee said on Thursday.
Jamal Kocher, a member of the parliamentary Finance Committee, said the government had assured lawmakers that public-sector salaries were secured and that there was no immediate problem with meeting wage payments.
But he said focusing solely on salaries risked obscuring a much larger threat: the possibility that Iraq’s economy could face serious disruption if the country came under sanctions, entered into confrontation with the United States or suffered a halt to its oil exports.
Kocher told Shafaq News that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and the Finance Ministry had confirmed that salaries were secure, while state revenues, particularly from oil, had begun to recover.
The bigger risk, he said, was an “economic shutdown” resulting from disrupted oil exports or international isolation.
Iraq remains heavily dependent on oil revenues and closely tied to the international financial system, leaving its economy vulnerable to any major disruption in exports, access to foreign currency or international banking channels.
Finance Ministry data show Iraq spent 30.769 trillion dinars ($23.5 billion) on public-sector salaries in the first half of 2026, while oil accounted for about 79 percent of federal revenue.
Crude exports rose to about 2.34 million barrels per day (bpd) in August from roughly 1.35 million bpd in July, although they remained below the more than 3.3 million bpd exported before the regional war disrupted Gulf shipping.
Kocher linked the issue of bringing weapons under state control directly to Iraq’s ability to preserve its financial and economic ties with the outside world.
“The Iraqi money is directly linked to bringing weapons under state control,” he said, arguing that oil, liquidity, foreign currency and weapons were interconnected, to varying degrees, with US and British interests and influence.
Any disruption in one of these areas could spill into the others, particularly in an economy that relies heavily on oil exports to generate foreign currency and finance government spending.
The risks extend beyond oil revenues. Iraq also depends on its integration into the global financial system to facilitate transfers, support international trade and attract foreign investment worth billions of dollars.
Kocher said access to the international financial system, including the SWIFT payments network, was crucial to maintaining economic stability, while failure to meet the timetable for bringing weapons under state control could prompt a tougher international stance towards Baghdad.
He stressed that salaries were not currently under direct threat, according to available government data, but warned that the situation could become far more complicated if potential restrictions affected the state’s sources of income or its ability to access international financial channels.
A halt to economic activity, a disruption to oil exports, sanctions or international isolation would be far more serious than a delay in salary payments, Kocher said, because the consequences could spread to trade and investment and undermine the government’s ability to meet its financial obligations.
The warnings come as Iraq seeks to preserve financial stability through higher oil revenues and government efforts to increase production, while its continued reliance on crude leaves public finances exposed to any major disruption in exports or the movement of funds abroad.
The ruling State Administration Coalition, an alliance of Sunni, Shia and Kurdish parties, has set September 30 as the deadline for ending armed activity outside state institutions, warning that violations after that date would fall under Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law.
The deadline has added urgency to efforts to bring weapons under government control, with the issue increasingly intersecting with Iraq’s relations with Washington and the wider international financial system.
Khalid Walid, a member of former prime minister Mohammed Shiaa Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition, told Shafaq News on Thursday that negotiations between the ruling Shi’ite Coordination Framework and armed factions were making progress towards placing weapons under state control.
Kocher warned that any potential US sanctions could make it harder for Iraq to pay salaries and service its debts, describing the issue as “very sensitive” and urging political leaders not to approach it through political point-scoring or populism.
He called on political leaders, party chiefs and armed groups to take responsibility for the issue of weapons control, given its growing security, political and economic implications.
For Baghdad, the debate over weapons is therefore increasingly tied to its ability to preserve access to international financial channels, protect oil revenues and maintain trade and investment links, as it seeks to balance demands for state sovereignty with growing pressure from its international partners.