Iran war leaves Iraq running out of money

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Aug 12, 2026 · 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 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

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

What happened

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.

Follow-up questions

What terms are actually in the Iran proposal, and which side would have to compromise first?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that A small proportion of Iraqi oil is exported via a Turkish pipeline?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

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 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 6

schedule Pending 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “A small proportion of Iraqi oil is exported via a Turkish pipeline.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results or cross-references to confirm or deny the existence of oil exports via a Turkish pipeline.

info

Claim 2: “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 specific monthly expenditure range of $6.5 billion to $8.2 billion is only reported by Deutsche Welle. No other provided evidence corroborates these financial figures.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Iraqi air force is designed to support ground forces with surveillance, reconnaissance and troop lift. Two reconnaissance squadrons use light aircraft, three helicopter squadrons are used to move …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq

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web search NEUTRAL — Iraqis (Arabic: العراقيون al-ʿIrāqiyyūn) are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of Iraq. The majority of Iraqis are Arabs, [19] with Kurds accounting for the largest ethnic minority, followed …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqis

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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq is a country in southwestern Asia. Iraq borders Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, Turkey to the north, Syria to the northwest, Jordan to the west, and Iran to the east. The capital of Iraq is…
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq

+ 1 more evidence source

schedule

Claim 3: “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 4: “By May, Iraq's seaborne crude exports were down 97%.”

CORROBORATED

Deutsche Welle reports a 97% decrease. This is corroborated by Breakwave Advisors, which states seaborne exports fell to 260kbd in May, which it describes as 'just 8% of the 2025 average' (a 92% drop), closely aligning with the claim's magnitude.

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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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web search NEUTRAL — Iraq seaborne crude/condensate exports fell to a dataset low of 260kbd in May - just 8% of the 2025 average and 145kbd lower m-o-m from the prior dataset low observed in April.
https://www.breakwaveadvisors.com/insights/2026/6/23/iraqs-e…

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web search NEUTRAL — Refinery crude throughputs increased further in July but remained nearly 5 mb/d below year earlier levels, at 80.9 mb/d. Continued Middle East product export disruptions and attacks on Russian refiner…
https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-august-2026

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 5: “the Iraqi government... saying it still had $83 billion in reserves, plus gold holdings and non-oil income.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim regarding $83 billion in reserves is only mentioned in the Deutsche Welle cross-reference.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — the Iraqi government... saying it still had $83 billion in reserves, plus gold holdings and non-oil income
https://www.dw.com/en/iraq-iran-war-payments-salaries-oil-st…

schedule

Claim 6: “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.

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Claim 7: “As a result of the blockade, Iraqi oil exports decreased by around 83% in March, compared to the same period last year.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that Iraqi oil exports dropped by approximately 83% in March 2026 compared to the previous year is reported by Deutsche Welle and corroborated by a web search result specifically mentioning a loss of 83.2% of share for China in March 2026 due to the closure.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events of the year 2026 in Iraq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Iraq

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of notable deaths in March 2026. Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_March_2026

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Following the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war on 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel conducted airstrikes targeting several Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias under the Islamic Resistance in …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States-led_conflic…

+ 4 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “Almost all of Iraq's national budget, somewhere between 85% and 90%, comes from the export of its oil.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific percentage (85-90%) is only mentioned in the Deutsche Welle cross-reference. While Wikipedia confirms the economy is 'dominated by the oil sector', it does not provide the specific budget percentage.

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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

+ 4 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 9: “Of that, money for salaries, pensions and social security accounted for 99% of all operational spending.”

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 10: “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.

info

Claim 11: “Iraq's monthly income in May and June was somewhere between $2 billion and $2.3 billion”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific monthly income range of $2 billion to $2.3 billion for May and June 2026 is only mentioned in the Deutsche Welle cross-reference.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — As a number, 1 billion is an almost unimaginable. Here’s a way to help you imagine it. Use 1 billion—with its nine zeros—to measure your time. Look forward or back to your 1-billionth-second birthday.…
https://billionbirthday.com/

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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-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Detailed information on median income by country, providing insights into the average earnings of individuals within each nation with additional details related to this topic.This data was based on se…
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/median-in…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 12: “Since Israel and the US bombed Iran in late February, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources confirm that Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026. This is reported by BBC News, Wikipedia (2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis/campaign), and other web search results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 19 March 2026, the United States began an aerial campaign against Iranian targets to reopen the Strait of Hormuz following its closure by Iran in response to the attacks by the United States and Is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_campaign

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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

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Following the 2026 Iran war, Iran has asserted sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, increasing its total area and adding to its territorial waters. It has done this by regulating maritime traffic an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_sovereignty_over_the_S…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 13: “Almost all of Iraq's oil — between 80% to 90% — was shipped out through there [the Strait of Hormuz].”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific figure of 80-90% of Iraqi oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is only mentioned in the Deutsche Welle cross-reference. While Wikipedia confirms the Strait is a major choke point, it doesn't provide the specific percentage for Iraq.

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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

+ 4 more evidence sources

info

Claim 14: “Iraq has a huge and growing public sector, with about two-thirds of the around 30 million working-age Iraqis relying on the state for their livelihoods.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim regarding two-thirds of 30 million working-age Iraqis relying on the state is only found in the Deutsche Welle cross-reference. Other search results discuss general labor force calculations but do not corroborate this specific state-reliance statistic.

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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

+ 4 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.