Iraq’s Economy between the US and Iran: Perceptions and Realities

This event disseminated the findings of a series of papers produced for the LSE Middle East Centre by Ahmed Tabaqchali exploring the economic and financial interactions of the Iraqi economy with the outside world, particularly the use of the dollar in relation to Iran and the US. While the US’ Iraq policy is still fluid, there have been signs that America’s ‘maximum pressure campaign’ towards Iran will have spillover effects in Iraq, with the Trump administration viewing policy towards Iraq solely through the lens of a perceived threat of Iranian dominance in the country. Iran’s economic footprint in Iraq, both perceived and real, will be an issue for Iraq and its relationship with the US and the West. Meet the speaker: Ahmed Tabaqchali is a Visiting Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. Ahmed is a capital markets professional with over 25 years’ experience in US and MENA markets. He is the Chief Strategist of the AFC Iraq Fund. Ahmed is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS), and non-resident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council - Iraq Initiative. He is a board member of the Iraq Fund for Higher Education (IFHE)/Baghdad Business School (BBS). Access the papers here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/publications/paper-series