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Iran war leaves Iraq running out of money

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · · 1096 words · By Cathrin Schaer; Ismael Adnan
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What to know about Iran war leaves Iraq running out of money

Iran war leaves Iraq running out of money August 12, 2026 They may be thousands of kilometers away but the Strait of Hormuz — or more specifically, its blockade — is making life increasingly difficult for many ordinary Iraqis.

Claims checked 16
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Iran war leaves Iraq running out of money August 12, 2026 They may be thousands of kilometers away but the Strait of Hormuz — or more specifically, its blockade — is making life increasingly difficult for many ordinary Iraqis.

Why it matters

For the last three months or so, Mahmoud Waleed's salary has been arriving later and later.

Common ground

The 38-year-old teacher is paid by the Iraqi Ministry of Education, but because Iraq cannot export enough oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the government is running out of cash.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/iraq-iran-war-payments-salaries-oil-strait-of-hormuz-shipp…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 6
check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “the Iraqi government... saying it still had $83 billion in reserves, plus gold holdings and non-oil income”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the Iraqi government's reserves of $83 billion.
schedule
Claim 2: “In May, total government expenditure fell by around a quarter compared to last year”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 3: “Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi... visited Iran in late July”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 4: “the Iraqi government announced it was reviving a long-shuttered Iraq-Lebanon pipeline”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 5: “about two-thirds of the around 30 million working-age Iraqis relying on the state for their livelihoods”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence includes a math problem about a hypothetical population of 30 million and general housing news, but no factual confirmation that two-thirds of Iraq's working-age population rely on the state.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hobby Lobby smuggling scandal started in 2009 when representatives of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores received a large number of clay bullae and tablets originating in the ancient Near East.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Lobby_smuggling_scandal
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Iraq War (Arabic: حرب العراق, romanized: ḥarb al-ʿirāq), also referred to as the Second Gulf War (Gulf War II), was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Iraq went on to militarily oc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_invasion_of_Kuwait
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “every month the Iraqi government needs somewhere between $6.5 billion (€5.6 billion) and $8.2 billion for those payments [salaries, pensions and social welfare]”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results provided for this claim discuss unrelated economic losses in other contexts (Lancet, Arizona highway, Obama debt) and do not mention Iraqi government monthly payments.
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web search NEUTRAL — economic loss of $28.8 billion.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5…
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web search NEUTRAL — But why is this $5 billion highway being built, and could it actually help reduce traffic on I-10?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBbLIMRTMWs
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web search NEUTRAL — ranges on Obama’s contribution to the debt can flux between 2.8 trillion and 9...
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/national-debt-under-obama-33…
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Claim 7: “money for salaries, pensions and social security accounted for 99% of all operational spending [in May]”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “Oil has also been trucked out of Iraq, then loaded onto ships at Syrian ports”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 9: “Almost all of Iraq's national budget, somewhere between 85% and 90%, comes from the export of its oil”
CORROBORATED
A web search result explicitly states 'Iraq relies on oil revenues for roughly 90% of its budget', and Wikipedia confirms the economy is dominated by the oil sector.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iraq has a developing, upper-middle income economy, dominated by the oil sector. The IFAD has classified Iraq as an oil-rich upper middle income country. In 2025, the economy is estimated to be at $69…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Iraq
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Oil reserves in Iraq are considered the world's fifth-largest proven oil reserves, with 140 billion barrels. As a result of military occupation and civil unrest, the official statistics have not been…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves_in_Iraq
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iraq was the world's 5th largest oil producer in 2009, and has the world's fifth largest proven petroleum reserves. Just a fraction of Iraq's known fields are in development, and Iraq may be one of th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry_in_Iraq
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 10: “Israel and the US bombed Iran in late February”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Multiple Wikipedia entries and Britannica confirm that Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of airstrikes and bombardments carried out during the 2026 Iran war. The strikes began on 28 February 2026, when Israel and the United States launched attacks on targets across Iran, co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_during_the_202…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been at war with Iran and its regional allies. Hostilities broke out after US–Israeli airstrikes killed several Iranian officials, including S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Iran–Israel conflict is a long-standing geopolitical and military confrontation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Israel, involving proxy hostilities since 1985 and direct clas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Israel_conflict
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 11: “a small proportion of Iraqi oil is exported via a Turkish pipeline”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 12: “By May, Iraq's seaborne crude exports were down 97%”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that seaborne crude exports were down 97% by May is found in one specific web search result ('Iran war leaves Iraq running out of money'), but other sources (Iraqi News) mention a 60% plummet between January and June, creating a discrepancy in the specific percentage.
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web search NEUTRAL — According to the figures, Iraq’s average crude oil exports plummeted by 60 percent to 1.32 million barrels per day between January and the end of June 2026, down from 3.32 million barrels per day duri…
https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraqs-oil-exports-jump-to-488…
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web search NEUTRAL — By May, Iraq's seaborne crude exports were down 97%. This means Iraq's national income has also been severely reduced. Government sources told various local media that Iraq's monthly income in May and…
https://www.dw.com/en/iraq-iran-war-payments-salaries-oil-st…
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web search NEUTRAL — From 13 April to 29 May 2026, the US simultaneously blockaded Iranian ports. Until the war's start, about 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade and 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) passe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis
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Claim 13: “Almost all of Iraq's oil — between 80% to 90% — was shipped out through [the Strait of Hormuz]”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that most of Iraq's oil is exported through the Strait of Hormuz and that it relies on these revenues for roughly 90% of its budget.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This timeline of the 2026 Iran war covers the period since 28 February 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2026_Iran_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Strait of Hormuz () is a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam Peninsula under the Musandam Governorate of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 14: “Iraq's monthly income in May and June was somewhere between $2 billion and $2.3 billion”
SINGLE SOURCE
This specific income figure ($2 billion to $2.3 billion for May and June) is only mentioned in the same single source as claim 7.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The gap between those two valuations is the whole story, and October closes it. At $41.7 billion, the price investors actually paid, Dangote's stake is worth $38.5 billion.
https://www.billionaires.africa/2026/08/31/aliko-dangote-cou…
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web search NEUTRAL — Without electricity, 1.3 billion are living in the dark - Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/world-without-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2-3 days in Dagestan with Islam Makhachev | ENG SUBSUFC Eurasia and UFC6.6M views • 9 months agoLivePlaylist ()Mix (50+). 17:08. Why Halal BBQ Is Taking Over TexasInsider Food and Business Insider1.4M…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoLsqu3hr7o
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Claim 15: “Iraqi oil exports decreased by around 83% in March, compared to the same period last year”
CORROBORATED
Rudaw reports that Iraqi oil exports dropped from over 99 million barrels in February to under 19 million in March (a decrease of ~80.8%), and Mena Focus confirms a sharp decline in March.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — March 1 is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 305 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dancon March is a military march performed by the DANCON (short for Danish Contingent) during missions abroad. The march has been a tradition with the Danish Defence since 1972 when the Royal Dani…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancon_March
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 16: “Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz”
CORROBORATED
Five independent cross-references from EuroNews, The Hindu, and Dailydispatch confirm Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/fire-extinguishe…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — cutting off the kingdom’s only other maritime route following Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/yemen-government…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/09/yemens-houthis-claim-att…
+ 2 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.