The US Treasury sanctioned the Iraq Development Bank (IDB) on Thursday over its ties to Iran, as part of a round that also hit 10 entities and 16 people under the “Economic Outcast” programme. The Treasury said the IDB abused a now-dissolved dollar wire auction and maintains links to Iranian government entities and militia groups in Iraq. Iraq had already banned the IDB and seven other local commercial banks from US dollar transactions in 2024. The move came as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi, who has sought to work with US authorities on banking reform, pushed his pledged deadline for disarming militia groups from September 30 to June 2027.
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