BAGHDAD – Iraq has stopped trading with Iran in the U.S. dollar after Washington imposed economic sanctions on Tehran, according to the country’s central bank on Saturday.
The Central Bank of Iraq has notified to all banks in the country that using dollars with Iranian banks has been banned.
“While there are sanctions on Iran, it will be difficult to preserve the trade relations [with Iran],” Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said.
New methods will be applied to ease the effects of the sanctions on trade, al-Hadithi added.
On Tuesday, the U.S. had re-imposed the first round of economic sanctions on Iran, which mainly target the country’s banking sector.
The sanctions are intended to obstruct Tehran’s acquisition of U.S. currency; bank transactions denominated in the Iranian rial; its valuable metals and steel trade; efforts and activities related to Iran’s sovereign debt; and the state’s automotive sector.
In a tweet posted earlier this week, President Donald Trump wrote: “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!”
According Iranian daily Financial Tribute estimates, from March 2017 to February 2018, Iran exported about $5.57 billion worth of non-oil commodities to Iraq, with construction materials and food topping the list of exported goods. Iran also supplies electronics, vehicles and spare car parts to Iraq.