Thursday, 8 October 2026

Parliament’s presidency cancelled Thursday’s plenary session, Shafaq reported, on the cabinet’s Tuesday decision to raise the public dollar-selling rate to 1,520 dinars per dollar from Wednesday. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government meanwhile delayed customs and tax collection on imported poultry, meat and eggs. The Iraqi Contractors Federation demanded reversal of the exchange-rate decision and opposed incorporating it into the 2027 budget. It warned that higher costs threatened jobs and could delay or suspend projects. In Baghdad’s Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya exchanges, the dollar fell to 166,800 dinars per $100 on Thursday from Wednesday’s 168,500. Al-Zaidi’s financial adviser, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, defended the adjustment as a precaution against risks to oil revenues, foreign-currency liquidity and public spending.

Hoquq (KH — parliamentary bloc) boycotted Wednesday’s parliamentary session, Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) reported. Miqdad al-Khafaji (KH — Hoquq MP) pledged to collect signatures to dismiss the Central Bank governor if his explanations were unsatisfactory and he rejected their solutions. Finance Committee member Jamal Kujur, however, said the State Administration Coalition and Coordination Framework had agreed beforehand. Separately, Ashab al-Kahf (Nujaba — assessed front) said on Wednesday that weapons carried in support of Palestine would remain a deterrent against aggression. It rejected being bound by government or political-party timetables and agreements. Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee member Jawad Rahim al-Saadi urged the government to submit the PMF bill without delay. His rejection of reported US pressure to prevent submission was conditional on those reports being true. The New Arab, citing sources, reported revisions restricting PMF movement, keeping it away from cities and preventing it from rivalling the army, while retaining an independent institution reporting to the prime minister.

In Hawija, Federal Police imposed a nighttime curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. across the district and its villages. Security sources reported an armed attack late Tuesday on the second battalion of the PMF’s 61st Brigade in Al-Barghaliya–Al-Dandish village. A sniper disabled a thermal imaging camera at a military position, prompting searches in the village and surrounding areas. The assault followed Monday’s ISIS attack on Federal Police in the same village, which killed officer Bakr Majid Mohammed. Police tightened controls on motorcycles and cars and limited cargo motorcycles to essential journeys with official authorization.

Separately, Iraq asked Syria to help export crude in addition to existing fuel-oil shipments, Syrian Petroleum Co. chief executive Yousef Qiblawy said. Trucks are being lined up to haul oil overland to a Mediterranean port, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq’s Oil Ministry put daily oil exports at 2.7 million barrels. The Syrian overland route is more expensive and less efficient than shipping through the strait. Iraq and Turkey also signed a one-year deal to resume oil exports through Ceyhan, BasNews reported.

In passenger transport, Iraqi Airways resumed direct flights from Najaf to Iran on Thursday, with the first flight departing for Tehran. The airline announced daily services linking Najaf with Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan. The restart follows the US Treasury sanctions office’s 29 September special licence for Iraqi Airways passenger services between Iraq and Iran through Najaf, subject to specific restrictions. The carrier said the services were expected to ease travel, particularly for passengers making religious, medical and educational journeys.

Hoquq (KH — parliamentary bloc) boycotted Wednesday’s parliamentary session, Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) reported, after the cabinet approved a public dollar-selling rate of 1,520 dinars on Tuesday. Al-Ittijah credited Hoquq’s request and more than 50 signatures with parliament’s decision to replace its agenda with a currency debate. Through Sabereen News (KH — affiliated), Hoquq said its boycott would continue until recommendations were issued. Hoquq MP Miqdad al-Khafaji (KH — parliamentary bloc) pledged to collect dismissal signatures against the Central Bank governor if his explanations were unsatisfactory and he rejected their solutions. MP Silwan Aqrawi conditioned budget approval on restoring the rate to 132,000 through iNEWS (KSS — affiliated), while Finance Committee deputy chair Ikhlas al-Dulaimi supported the increase on Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official). Finance Committee member Jamal Kujur told Al-Ahad that the State Administration Coalition and Coordination Framework had agreed beforehand. He also raised cancellation or committee referral of Thursday’s hearing. Shafaq subsequently reported that parliament’s presidency cancelled the plenary hearing, with a Finance Committee meeting planned instead.

Al-Ittijah, Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) and Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) reported Hilla’s Grand Market completely closed on Thursday because of the dollar’s rise. Al-Ittijah had also reported Shorja shop closures and stopped dollar trading on Wednesday. The Iraqi Teachers Syndicate forecast roughly 15% higher goods costs. The Central Bank called the adjustment an exceptional precaution to sustain budget financing, while Sabereen appended a complaint that the poor were left to God. The government meanwhile delayed customs and tax collection on imported poultry, meat and eggs.

Separately, Ashab al-Kahf (Nujaba — assessed front) said on Wednesday that weapons carried in support of Palestine would remain a deterrent against aggression, Islam Times reported. It rejected being bound by government or political-party timetables and agreements. Al-Nujaba TV attributed a daily flight-monitoring account to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. That account alleged three MQ-9 drones, one MQ-1 drone and a KC-135 tanker operated from US bases in Jordan over Baghdad, Anbar, Basra and southwestern Iraq throughout 6 October. Sabereen, Al-Ittijah and Al-Kornet al-Kata’ibi (KSS — affiliated) carried substantially matching text. Al-Ittijah’s Thursday report again attributed tracking of five American aircraft to the Islamic Resistance, with its graphic dated 6 October.

Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee member Jawad Rahim al-Saadi urged the government to submit the PMF bill without delay, through Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina (official social media channel). His rejection of reported US pressure to prevent submission was explicitly conditional on those reports being true. The New Arab, citing sources, reported revisions restricting PMF movement, keeping it away from cities and preventing it from rivalling the army. The same report said the PMF would remain an independent security institution reporting to the prime minister.

Elsewhere, Iraqi Airways resumed its Najaf–Tehran service on Thursday, Najaf airport announced through Al-Ittijah. The airline announced daily return flights linking Najaf with Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan, in statements carried by Al-Ghadeer and Al-Nujaba TV. Al-Ghadeer linked the Najaf–Tehran arrival to an exemption from sanctions on Iran. The US Treasury’s sanctions office granted Iraqi Airways a special licence on 29 September for passenger services between Iraq and Iran through Najaf, subject to specific restrictions.