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U.S. financial authorities last week barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on dollar smuggling to Iran via the Iraqi banking system, Iraqi central bank officials have said. Iraqi central bank (CBI) Governor Ali al-Allaq said on Wednesday the institution was following up on the issue and he had no indication the U.S. would sanction more Iraqi banks. He also noted that other banks were able to cover the market's needs for dollar transactions, with the 14 sanctioned banks representing just 8% of external transfers. The 14 banks have been banned from undertaking dollar transactions but can continue to use Iraqi dinars and other foreign currencies. The latest U.S. sanctions, along with previous ones on eight banks, have left nearly a third of Iraq's 72 banks blacklisted, two Iraqi central bank officials said.

Persons: Ali al, Allaq, Haider al, Shamma, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department, New York Fed, CBI, U.S ., Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraqi, United States, Iran, U.S, Tehran, Iraq's, Baghdad

☆ Russian land mines pose a persistent and deadly threat in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

What lies beneath Land mines left by Russian forces in Ukraine pose a deadly threat to Kyiv's military - and civilians in liberated territory. On average, anti-vehicle mines caused more incidents with multiple fatalities than anti-personnel mines did. GICHD has documented at least 12 types of anti-personnel mines and nine types of anti-vehicle mines in use in Ukraine. Formerly occupied towns in Kyiv; Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv oblasts all saw a large number of mines, especially anti-personnel mines, left in place, Mathewson said. Ukraine is a signatory to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, and had been destroying its anti-personnel mines when the war began.

Persons: Mark Hiznay, ”, Adam Komorowski, Tymur Pistriuha, Hiznay, PARM, GICHD, Andro Mathewson, “, Komorowsi, Mick Ryan, Mathewson, Nacho Doce, Pistriuha, Komorowski, ” Ryan, Ryan, Jack Watling, Watling, ” Watling, demining Organizations: Russian, Reuters, HALO Trust, Human Rights Watch, Advisory, Geneva International Centre, Humanitarian, Ukrainian Deminers Association, Ukrainian, U.S . Army, Australian Army, REUTERS, HALO, Mines, Royal United Services Institute, United, Surveyors, State Emergency Service, Dnipro River’s Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Eastern Europe, South America, Caribbean, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Germany, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Kherson, Iraqi, Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, ”, Vuhledar, United Nations, Nova, Izium

U.S. financial authorities last week barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on dollar smuggling to Iran via the Iraqi banking system, Iraqi central bank officials have said. U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the measures were not sanctions, as they have been referred to by Iraq's Central Bank governor. Iraqi central bank (CBI) Governor Ali al-Allaq said on Wednesday the institution was following up on the issue and he had no indication the U.S. would impose "sanctions" on more Iraqi banks. The 14 banks have been banned from undertaking dollar transactions but can continue to use Iraqi dinars and other foreign currencies. The latest U.S. measures, along with previous curbs on eight banks, have left nearly a third of Iraq's 72 banks blacklisted, two Iraqi central bank officials said.

Persons: Vedant Patel, Patel, Ali al, Allaq, Haider al, Shamma, Ahmed Rasheed, Timour, Richard Chang, Daniel Wallis Organizations: . State Department, Iraq's Central Bank, Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Central Bank of, U.S . Treasury Department, New York Fed, CBI, U.S ., Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraqi, United States, Iran, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S, Tehran, Iraq's, Baghdad

☆ This Hummus Holds Up After 800 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Ligaya Mishan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

You take chickpeas, hard and dry, and boil them until their skins loosen and they reveal themselves, tender little hulks with souls of butter. For much of human civilization, recipes were rarely written down, and of those that were, almost none have survived. You might recognize this as hummus. Notably absent from the recipe is garlic, despite its ubiquity in the cooking of the Arab world at the time. It’s not certain exactly when garlic was introduced to the dish: Nasrallah notes that there is no documentation of hummus recipes after the 14th century until the late 19th century.

Persons: Nawal Nasrallah, It’s, Nasrallah, Frenchman, Spencer Merolla, —, Alexandria —, ” Zayan Organizations: JR Locations: United States, Mexico, Egypt, Cairo, Alexandria, France, Paris, Salle

☆ Opinion: Putin’s new target is a cultural and economic jewel
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Opinion Michael Bociurkiw | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Emergency service personnel clear a destroyed building near the Odesa Port after a Russian attack on Thursday, July 20. Late last week, Russian cruise missiles blasted the port and an overlooking bluff where the imposing Chinese consulate is located. The city in southern Ukraine is a key cultural center, and has long links with Russia. The attacks also coincide with Russia pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal that was keeping Ukrainian grain flowing to the world. Consider that East Africa, where the World Food Program says millions of people are experiencing unprecedented levels of food insecurity, is hugely dependent on Ukrainian grain.

Persons: Michael Bociurkiw, Odesa, Odesa CNN — It’s, Michael Bociurkiw Chrystia, It’s, I’m, Moscow, Odesa’s, Catherine II, “ I’ve, ” Oleksandra Kovalchuk, we’ve, ”, Oleksandr Gimanov, Laura Ballman, “, —, I’d, I’ve, Andrii Organizations: Atlantic Council, Organization for Security, Cooperation, CNN, Odesa CNN, National Fine Arts Museum, Getty, ”, Opera, Rockets, NATO, Patriot, Twitter, Food, UNESCO, Patriots Locations: Odesa, Europe, Canadian, Turkish, Iraqi, Ukraine’s Donetsk, Papua New Guinea, Ukraine, Miami, York, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Russian, That’s, Beijing, Lika, Soviet, AFP, of, New York City, Paris, “, Kyiv, Russia, Western Europe, Romania, East Africa

☆ Sweden says it's target of Russia-backed disinformation over NATO, Koran burnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Police stand guard near the Iraqi embassy ahead of a demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden July 20, 2023. "We can see how Russia-backed actors are amplifying incorrect statements such as that the Swedish state is behind the desecration of holy scriptures," he said. "That is, naturally, completely false," Bohlin said, adding that such state actors tried to "create division and weaken Sweden's international standing." "The Swedish state does not issue permissions to burn copies of the Koran. Denmark and Sweden have said they deplore the burning of the Koran but cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.

Persons: Supantha Mukherjee, Sweden's, Carl, Oskar Bohlin, Bohlin, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson, Mikael Ostlund, Susanna Trehorning, Simon Johnson, Johan Ahlander, Anne Kauranen, William Maclean Organizations: Police, REUTERS, NATO, Civil Defence, Facebook, Psychological Defence Agency, SVT, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, STOCKHOLM, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Swedish, Denmark, Baghdad, Turkey, Helsinki

☆ Protesters burn Koran in front of Egyptian embassy in Denmark
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, July 25 (Reuters) - Five anti-Islam activists set fire to a Koran in front of the Egyptian embassy in Copenhagen on Tuesday, the third such incident in Denmark in less than a week, following Koran burnings in nearby Sweden that enraged Muslims. Denmark and Sweden have said they deplore the burning of the Koran but cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech. Last week, protesters in Iraq set the Swedish embassy in Baghdad ablaze. Tuesday's demonstration in Copenhagen by a group called "Danish Patriots" followed Koran burnings the group staged on Monday and last week in front of the Iraqi embassy. Iraq's foreign ministry on Monday called on authorities of European Union countries to "quickly reconsider so-called freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate" in light of the Koran burnings.

Persons: Trine Baumbach, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik Organizations: Patriots, European Union, Islam, University of Copenhagen, Reuters, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Copenhagen, Denmark, Sweden, Iraq, Swedish, Baghdad, European, Turkey

☆ Two protesters burn Koran in front of Iraqi embassy in Denmark
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Protesters from the "Danish Patriots" demonstrate in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark July 24, 2023 Ritzau Scanpix/Thomas Sjoerup/via REUTERSCOPENHAGEN, July 24 (Reuters) - Two protesters set fire to a copy of the Koran, Islam's holy book, in front of the Iraqi embassy in the Danish capital on Monday, risking a further deterioration of relations between the two countries. Protests have raged across Iran and Iraq after Denmark and Sweden allowed the burning of the Koran under rules protecting free speech. Protesters in Iraq set alight the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday. The two protesters were from a group that calls itself "Danish Patriots", which held a similar demonstration last week and livestreamed the events on Facebook. The organiser of Monday's demonstration in Copenhagen stomped on the Koran and set it alight in a tin foil tray next to the Iraqi flag on the ground.

Persons: Ritzau Scanpix, Thomas Sjoerup, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik, Nick Macfie Organizations: Danish Patriots, REUTERS, Protesters, Facebook, Nordic, Iranian, Thomson Locations: Copenhagen, Denmark, REUTERS COPENHAGEN, Iran, Iraq, Sweden, Baghdad, Copenhagen stomped

One rainy spring evening, a young Iranian mother with a mangled arm, her husband and their 3-year-old daughter met a smuggler near the Iraqi border who gave them a stern ultimatum: Ensure the child’s silence or leave her behind. The mother, Sima Moradbeigi, 26, recalled that she dashed to a pharmacy for a bottle of cough syrup to drug her daughter into a stupor. Under the cover of night, the family followed the smuggler out of Iran along mountain paths, sometimes crouching or crawling through muddy scrubland to avoid border guards stalking their route with flashlights. Hours later, Ms. Moradbeigi and her husband said, they arrived safely at a mosque outside the city of Sulaimaniya in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan Region. The Islamic Republic — the theocracy that arose after Iran’s 1979 revolution — was never hospitable to women who rebelled against its strict religious codes for dress and behavior.

Persons: Sima Moradbeigi, Moradbeigi, Juan, —, Mahsa Amini Locations: Iranian, Iran, Sulaimaniya, Iraq’s, Kurdistan Region, Republic

☆ Patrol dogs are terrorizing and mauling prisoners inside the United States
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Hannah Beckler | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +64 min

But prison patrol dogs aren't deployed for chases; they are used inside the prison walls. Tri-State Canines training facility, Warren, OhioVirginia Department of Corrections patrol dogs are typically Belgian Malinois, Czech shepherds, or German shepherds. Department patrol dogs are trained to bite once and hold to minimize flesh tears and lacerations. Patrol dog kennels, Virginia Department of CorrectionsThe patrol dog kennels are even smaller, at 6 feet by 10. A veterinary technician who treated patrol dogs at a clinic in Lebanon, Virginia, said she was told not to touch the patrol dogs in her care without their handler present.

Persons: Santos Cardona, Michael Smith, Smith, Marco, crouch, Mohammed Bollendia, protectively, Ashraf Abdullah Ahsy, Ivan L, Frederick II, Cardona, Abu, John Ketzer, Ketzer, Michael J, Donald Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld, Abu Ghraib, Lane McCotter, Gary DeLand, Terry Bartlett, Richard Billings, Larry DuBois, John Armstrong, Terry Stewart, Charles Ryan, Ryan, Stewart, Adrian Duran, cradled, Duran he'd, Duran, Blackie, growled, he'd, It's, extractions, they're, Jerko, Jeremy Defour, Bert, Antwon Whitten, Virginia, Peter C, Meade, —, Oikeutta eläimille, Dave Blosser, Blosser, Eli Hiller, he's, Matthew Johnson, Oscar, Johnson, Oscar growled, Boris, Cajos, Linwood Mathias, Lucas Pruitt, Mathias, Xavia Goodwyn, sicced Lojzo, Edris, Michael Watson, Watson, Thomas Rose, Rose, Goodwyn, Red, Rick White, Ron Angelone, Wallens, Tyler Parry, Charlton Yingling, Parry, Eugene, Bull, Connor, Bill Hudson, Yingling, Solomon Northup, Solomon, Walter Gadsden, Malcolm X, Michael Brown, Ferguson, They're, Jeffery, White, Curtis Garrett, Garrett, Kathleen Dennehy, Dennehy, Aaron Fedor, Jimmy Stanley, Dora Schriro, Schriro, Omar, Dionisio Paulino, Paulino, Robert Silva, Adrian Duran's, Adrian Duran Duran, Adrian, unwound, Sussex II, Whitten, Western District of Virginia Jeremy Defour, Defour, Kenneth Licklider, Chris Robbins, Rivan, she'd, They've, Stephen McReynolds, McReynolds, Daniel Clinton, Tom, Clinton, basketballs, Clinton's, Fuga, Jamie Elliott, Elliott, Duran couldn't, Bodhi, Jamie, Jawan Lee, Lee, Lee's Organizations: US, Business, Associated Press, Department of, Rights, Department, Justice, Department of Justice, Virginia Department of Corrections Police, Human Rights Watch, Virginia Department of Corrections, University of Virginia School of Law, Sussex II, Police, Kern Medical, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, The Indiana Department of Correction, Delaware Department of Correction, South, New Jersey Department of Corrections, Tri, Warren , Ohio Virginia Department of Corrections, State Canine Services, Court, Western District of, Red, View Regional, Onion, North Correctional Center, Corrections, Goodwyn, FBI, Ku Klux Klan, Human Rights, University of Nevada, University of Louisville, AP, Breeders, Ferguson Police Department, Souza, Baranowski, Commonwealth, Baranowski Correctional, Prentice, Black, United States, District, Massachusetts, Housing, Virginia Commonwealth University Health, Virginia, Housing Unit, Patrol, Southwest, Southwest Virginia Veterinary Services Locations: Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Belgian, Baghdad, Abu, United States, New Mexico, Utah, DeLand, Billings, Bartlett, Arizona, DuBois, Massachusetts, Armstrong, Connecticut, Arizona , Connecticut, Delaware , Indiana , Iowa , Massachusetts , New Jersey, Virginia, Alexandria , Virginia, Los Angeles, backyards, Sussex, lunging, Indiana, Richmond , Virginia, Iowa, Augusta, Ridge, New Jersey, South Woods, Warren ,, Czech, Europe, , Virginia, Western District, Western District of Virginia, Warren , Ohio, Holland, Tri, Canton , Ohio, Wallens, Onion, Red Onion, View, Norton , Virginia, Portsmouth , Virginia, Kentucky, Birmingham , Alabama, Las Vegas, Americas, Caribbean, American, Ferguson , Missouri, Lancaster , Massachusetts, Richmond, Lebanon , Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Lebanon, Waverly , Virginia, chihuahua

☆ Sweden temporarily moves Iraq embassy staff after storming
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Emilie MadiSTOCKHOLM, July 21 (Reuters) - Seconded staff and operations at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad have been relocated temporarily to Stockholm for security reasons after it was stormed by protesters, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest at a planned burning of the Koran in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to attack and vandalise the embassy in the Iraqi capital. A Sweden foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that the staff and operations would temporarily move to Stockholm for security reasons but declined to give further comment. "What has happened is completely unacceptable and the government strongly condemns these attacks," Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement on Thursday. Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Copenhagen and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, editing by Anna RingstromOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Emilie Madi STOCKHOLM, Tobias Billstrom, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Johan Ahlander, Anna Ringstrom Organizations: REUTERS, Swedish Foreign, Iraq, Thomson Locations: Sweden, Beirut’s, Lebanon, Swedish, Baghdad, Stockholm, Copenhagen

☆ US condemns attack in Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, criticizes Iraq security
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday strongly condemned the attack on the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad over a planned Koran burning in Stockholm and criticized Iraq's security forces for not preventing protesters from breaching the diplomatic post. "It is unacceptable that Iraqi Security Forces did not act to prevent protesters from breaching the Swedish Embassy compound for a second time and damaging it." Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest of a planned burning of the Koran in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to storm and set alight the Swedish Embassy in the Iraqi capital. The United States called on the Iraqi government to honor its international obligations to protect all diplomatic missions in Iraq. "Foreign missions should not be targets of violence," Miller said.

Persons: Matthew Miller, Miller, Doina Chiacu, Alison Williams Organizations: Department, Iraqi Security Forces, Swedish Embassy, Thomson Locations: United States, Swedish, Baghdad, Stockholm, Iraq, U.S

The protester didn't follow through with his plan to burn the Koran in Stockholm, but he still kicked and partially destroyed one. Iraq told the Swedish ambassador to leave and recalled its own envoy to Stockholm. This led Sadr to declare last August that he was withdrawing from politics, leaving the Iran-backed Shi'ite groups in the driving seat of government. Sadr has mostly laid low since announcing his departure from politics, engaging supporters in religious events rather than calling them to the streets for protests. That has changed after the burning of a Koran in Sweden last month, when Sadr called on supporters to engage in mass demonstrations at the Swedish embassy and other parts of Iraq.

Persons: Sadr, Muqtada al, Mohammed Shia Al, Ahmed Younis, Mohammed Sadeq al, Saddam Hussein, Mohammed Baqir, Saddam, Sudani, Renad Mansour, Tom Perry, Michael Georgy, William Maclean Organizations: U.S, Iraq, Thomson Locations: U.S, Iraq BAGHDAD, Baghdad, Sweden, Stockholm, Iraq, Swedish, Iran, Europe, Sadr, Tehran, Washington

☆ For Young Arab Americans in Michigan, the Hookah Lounge Feels like Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Farah Al Qasimi | Sara Aridi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many who grew up in Dearborn, Mich., would add to the list: your first hookah. Located just outside downtown Detroit, Dearborn is home to one of the United States’s largest Arab American communities: Nearly 50 percent of residents identify as having Arab ancestry, according to the U.S. census. Middle Eastern shops, where you may find portable hookah cups, dot the streets. There is also the Arab American National Museum (which sells hookah-themed socks) and the Islamic Center of America, one of the nation’s oldest and largest mosques. “A spot like a hookah lounge, it’s sacred,” particularly for immigrants and refugees far from home, said Marrim (pronounced Mariam) Akashi Sani, 25, who is Iraqi-Iranian.

Persons: Marrim, Akashi Sani, ” Organizations: United, Arab American National Museum, Islamic Center of America Locations: Dearborn, Mich, Detroit, Iraqi

☆ Russia and Ukraine just turned much of the Black Sea into a dangerous no man's land
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged threats this week to ships sailing through the Black Sea. The Kremlin then went much further, warning it may attack any vessels it believes are bound for Ukraine, effectively turning the Black Sea into a no man's land. They added that Moscow even published a video claiming to have detected and detonated an alleged Ukrainian sea mine. "Our information indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports. Turkish-flagged bulker TQ Samsun, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, transits Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey July 18, 2023.

Persons: Biden, Adam Hodge, António Guterres, —, Matthew Miller, Lasalle, Mark Duncan, Washington didn't Organizations: Service, United Nations, AP, White, Security, REUTERS, Black Sea Initiative, UN, US State, US Naval Institute Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Kremlin, Odesa, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Crimea, Azov, Samsun, Istanbul, Turkey, Iran, Persian, Iraq, Hormuz, Kuwait, Soviet, Iraqi, American

☆ Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed, set alight over Quran burning plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gather for a protest outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on July 20, 2023. Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad early on Thursday, scaling its walls and setting it ablaze in protest against the expected burning of a Quran in Sweden. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said embassy staff were safe but that Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy in accordance with the Vienna Convention. Swedish police denied several applications earlier this year for protests that were set to include burning the Quran, citing security concerns. "Yes, yes to the Quran," protesters chanted.

Persons: Moqtada al, Sadr, Tobias Billstrom, Muqtada Sadr, STT Organizations: Swedish, Vienna Convention, TT, Telegram Locations: Swedish, Baghdad, Sweden, Vienna, Finnish, Stockholm, Iraqi

☆ Who is the Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The demonstration was called by supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, 48, an influential Shi'ite cleric who commands the loyalty of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. He led two anti-U.S. revolts, prompting the Pentagon to call his Mehdi Army militia the biggest threat to Iraq’s security. In Iraq's sectarian 2006-2008 civil war, the Mehdi Army was accused of forming death squads that kidnapped and killed Sunni Muslims. In 2008, after clashing with the Iraqi army, he disbanded the Mehdi Army, renaming it the Peace Brigades. - Sadr has opposed Iranian influence in Iraq, setting him apart from other Shi'ite leaders who have close ties to Tehran.

Persons: Muqtada, Mehdi, Sadr, Mohammed Sadeq al, Saddam Hussein, Mohammed Baqir, Saddam, sayyid, Prophet Mohammad ., Sadr's, Tom Perry, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Protesters, Pentagon, Mehdi Army, Brigades, Sweden, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Swedish, Baghdad, Sweden, Muqtada al, Sadr, U.S, Iraq, Tehran, Iran, Stockholm, Iraqi

☆ U.S. Sanctions 14 Iraqi Banks in Crackdown on Iran Dollar Trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( David S. Cloud | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sanctions-14-iraqi-banks-in-crackdown-on-iran-dollar-trade-33ef9f35

Persons: Dow Jones Locations: iraqi, iran

BASRA, Iraq, July 19 (Reuters) - Iraq secured its $27 billion oil deal with France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) last week by offering quicker, less risky payback through greater revenue-sharing, a model it could replicate in the future to lure investors. The new deal is designed to allow Total to take a portion of revenues from the Ratawi oil field in Iraq's oil-rich Basra region and use them to help finance three other projects, two senior Iraqi oil officials said. In the end, Total took a 45% share while the state-owned Basra Oil Company took 30% and QatarEnergy 25%. Revenues will be split according to those stakes, one of Iraq's senior oil officials said. Iraq's oil officials said the model could be replicated in the future but that would be considered on a project-by-project basis.

Persons: France's, Aref Mohammed, Silvia Aloisi, Timour Azhari, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Total, Reuters, Basra Oil Company, Thomson Locations: BASRA, Iraq, U.S, Basra, Ratawi, Saudi, Iraqi, Timour Azhari, Baghdad, Paris

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday and set fire to parts of it ahead of a demonstration outside the Iraqi Embassy in Sweden, where recent Quran burnings have inflamed anger in the Muslim world. At the latest demonstration in Sweden on Thursday, Mr. Momika and another protester kicked around copies of the Quran and stomped on a replica of the Iraqi flag. In response, Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, expelled the Swedish ambassador and directed Iraq’s chargé d’affairs to withdraw from the Iraqi embassy in Sweden, a government spokesman said. The severing of diplomatic relations came “in response to the repeated permission of the Swedish government to burn the Noble Qur’an, insult Islamic sanctities and burn the Iraqi flag,” Mr. al-Sudani said in a tweet. The Iraqi government also suspended the operating license in the country of the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson.

Persons: Salwan, Eid, Momika, Mohammed Shia, Iraq’s, d’affairs, Mr, Sudani Organizations: Iraqi Embassy, Ericsson Locations: Swedish, Baghdad, Iraqi, Sweden, Stockholm

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said staff at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad were safe but Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy. Thursday's demonstration was called by supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest at the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media. He stood by the embassy storming on Thursday, telling a press conference the U.S. "has no right to condemn the burning of the Swedish embassy but should have condemned the burning of the Koran". "Yes, yes to the Koran," protesters chanted. Sweden has seen several Koran burnings in recent years, mostly by far-right and anti-Muslim activists.

Persons: Tobias Billstrom, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Mohammed Shia Al, Billstrom, Muqtada al, Moqtada al, Read, Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Timour Azhari, Anna Ringstrom, Supantha Mukherjee, Johan Ahlander, Marie, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Ahmed Rasheed, Tom Hogue, Tom Perry, Lincoln, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean, Alison Williams, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Sweden's Ericsson, State Department, Telegram, Turkish, Sweden's, Islam, Marie Mannes, Thomson Locations: Iraq, BAGHDAD, STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Stockholm, Baghdad, Iraqi, Sweden, Tehran, Turkey, Washington, Sadr, Copenhagen

☆ Iraq to summon US ambassador over remarks about Christian leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid speaks during a news conference as an ancient artifact brought back from Italy is exhibited, following his visit to Rome, in Baghdad, Iraq, June 18, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed SaadJuly 20 (Reuters) - Iraq's president said late on Wednesday he would summon the United States ambassador to Baghdad over critical remarks by a U.S. State Department spokesperson regarding the Iraqi government's treatment of a top Iraqi Christian leader. "I will say we are disturbed by the harassment of Cardinal Sako ... and troubled by the news that he has left Baghdad," Miller told a press briefing. The Iraqi Christian community is a vital part of Iraq's identity and a central part of Iraq's history of diversity and tolerance," Miller said. Rashid was "disappointed by accusations leveled against the Iraqi government" by Miller and so would summon the ambassador, a presidency statement said.

Persons: Abdul Latif Rashid, Ahmed Saad, Matthew Miller, Cardinal Louis Sako, Sako, Pope Francis, Rashid's, Cardinal Sako, Miller, Rashid, Hatem Maher, Timour, Timour Azhari, Leslie Adler, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . State Department, State Department, Chaldean Catholic, Iraqi, Vatican Embassy, Chaldean, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Baghdad, Iraq, United States, Iraqi, U.S, Iran, Iraq's, Kurdistan, Vatican, Islamic State

Swedish news agency TT reported on Wednesday that Swedish police granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday. "Yes, yes to the Koran," protesters chanted. [1/5]Protesters clash with security forces members as they gather near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad hours after the embassy was stormed and set on fire ahead of an expected Koran burning in Stockholm, in Baghdad, Iraq, July 20, 2023. Late last month, Sadr called for protests against Sweden and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador after the Koran burning in Stockholm by an Iraqi man. Two major protests took place outside of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the aftermath of that Koran burning, with protesters breaching the embassy grounds on one occasion.

Persons: Muqtada Sadr, Baghdad's, Ahmed Saad, Sadr, Timour Azhari, Anna Ringstrom, Tom Hogue Organizations: Telegram, REUTERS, Sweden, United Arab, United, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Baghdad, Sweden, Stockholm, Iraq, Iraqi, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, United States, Lincoln

CNN —Hundreds of protesters stormed the main gates of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad early Thursday in response to police in Stockholm granting permission for a demonstration were organizers are reportedly planning another burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Videos posted on social media showed a large number of protesters inside the Swedish embassy’s perimeter as well as black smoke and fire coming from the building. According to AFP, Swedish police said Wednesday they had granted a permit for a protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, with media reporting the organizers planned to burn the Muslim holy book. Stockholm police told AFP they had granted a permit for a “public gathering” outside the Iraqi embassy but did not wish to give further comments on what the protesters were planning. A large number of protesters breached the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early Thursday.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN, AFP, Swedish, Swedish Embassy, Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Swedish, Baghdad, Stockholm, Sweden, Stockholm’s, Iraq

☆ U.S. sanctions 14 Iraqi banks in crackdown on Iran dollar trade- WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD July 19 (Reuters) - The United States has barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials. The United States uncovered information that the Iraqi banks engaged in money laundering and fraudulent transactions, some of which may have involved sanctioned individuals and raised concerns that Iran could benefit, the newspaper said. The Iraqi government, the U.S. Treasury Department and the New York Fed did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iran has been unable to access billions of dollars in assets in several countries due to U.S. sanctions. The United States has insisted that oil-rich Iraq, the OPEC group's second-largest producer, moves towards self-sufficiency.

Persons: Washington, Kanishka Singh, Daphne Psaledakis, Timour, Michael S, Doina Organizations: United, Wall Street, U.S, Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Bank of New, U.S . Treasury Department, New York Fed, OPEC, Derby, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, United States, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Iran, U.S, Iraq, Washington, Timour Azhari, Baghdad, New York, Bengaluru

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