Exclusive-Iraq sought financial assistance from IMF as result of Iran war, source close to IMF says

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) – Iraqi officials have approached the International Monetary Fund about securing financial assistance as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, a source close to the IMF said on Thursday.

Initial conversations took place last month during the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, and discussions are ongoing about how much funding Iraq would need and how any loan would be structured, the source said.

The war that began on February 28 with a massive U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran and triggered Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has rocked the entire Middle East, wreaking damage to infrastructure and economies.

Iraq has been hard hit by the war, with most of its oil exports – which represent nearly all government income – cut off by the closure ⁠of the critical waterway, which previously carried about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Louise Heavens)