🚨 Iraqi Dinar 1:1 Rate Discussed | Breaking Down the Iraqi TV Reports! 🚨 IQD News Today

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Welcome back everybody. Today we have some of the most talked about updates coming out of Iraq right now. We are going to cover a very specific claim about a one-to-one exchange rate.

[00:00:12]We will talk about what still needs to happen before Iraq can move fully forward.

[00:00:19]We will hear from our experienced voices about how close things actually are.

[00:00:24]And we will look at what the Central Bank Governor just admitted publicly.

[00:00:30]There is a lot to unpack today, so let's take it one piece at a time. Several experienced voices this week came together around a very similar message.

[00:00:40]And when multiple careful analysts start saying the same thing independently, that is worth paying close attention to.

[00:00:46]Jeff made one of the most direct statements he has made in a long time.

[00:00:50]He said that Iraq has finished everything it needs in order to revalue its currency. He then connected two things that most investors have been watching as separate events. He said that the government formation and the rate change are one in the same. They are not two milestones in a sequence, they are tied together as a single connected moment. And then he said plainly that now the government is formed, the rate is damn close to changing. Jeff is not someone who speaks carelessly. He has been one of the most measured and analytical voices in this community for years. And when he uses language like that, investors who have followed him for a long time take it seriously. Steven added his own read on the overall environment from a different but complimentary angle. He said it feels to him like the stage is being set for something major to happen. He was honest enough to say that nobody knows exactly what that something will be, and that things can change at the drop of a hat. But the geopolitical tensions, the speed of developments, and the overall energy of the situation all point in the same direction to him. Steven has been in this investment long enough to know the difference between a moment that feels like movement and one that does not. And right now he is saying it feels like movement. Jeff also added a very specific technical point that connects the exchange rate to something even larger than monetary reform. He explained that Iraq will never be able to go fully international or get US sanctions lifted while the value of the dinar remains below 1 penny. This is not a preference or an opinion. It is a structural requirement. Below that threshold, Iraq does not meet the basic financial credibility standards that international institutions require before removing sanctions. The exchange rate and the sanctions are not two separate conversations. They are the same problem that resolves together or not at all. Jeff and Stephen saying these at the same time is not something I take lightly.

[00:02:45]Jeff has earned his credibility and he does not throw out statements carelessly.

[00:02:52]Stephen describing the stage being set after years of watching closely means something real.

[00:02:59]The connection between the rate and sanctions removal also hit hard.

[00:03:04]You cannot solve one without solving the other.

[00:03:08]These are experienced voices saying that at the same time. Reset intelligence brought one of the most analytically precise observations of the entire week and it reframes how every investor should be reading Alak's public statements going forward. They documented that Governor Alak went on television again and issued another clean public denial. He stated there is no change in the exchange rate, that foreign reserves are strong, and that the Central Bank is not even studying the question. That sounds final and definitive, but here is the detail that changes everything. It was the fifth time Alak has said almost exactly the same thing in just 6 months. The denials came in November, then February 12th, then February 25th, then April 16th, and now May 19th. Reset Intelligence's position is direct. When a Central Bank governor feels the need to publicly deny the same thing five times in rapid succession, it is not because the question is irrelevant. It is because the question is very much alive, and the pressure behind it keeps building to a point where silence is no longer enough to contain it. Frank 26 addressed this same denial from a different but equally important angle. He pointed out that shortly after Al-Alaq made his public statement saying there is no change in the rate, something happened that made the denial impossible to maintain. After a meeting involving Trump, the US Treasury, and the Federal Reserve, Al-Alaq came back publicly and said that is not what he meant. Frank called that exactly what it looked like, a man who got caught in a contradiction and tried to walk it back after pressure came from the highest levels of American financial authority. Reset Intelligence also highlighted what Al-Alaq confirmed in that same appearance, which is that a meeting is coming in the near future, bringing the Central Bank of Iraq together with the US Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, and a consulting firm called Oliver Wyman. Al-Alaq framed it as being about transitioning to dealing in other foreign currencies for banks that have completed all the required requirements. Their reading of that language is multi-currency settlement readiness, meaning Iraq is preparing its banking system to handle international transactions across multiple currencies, which is a foundational step in any serious monetary reform process. Al-Alaq also made an admission this week that deserves more attention than it received. He confirmed publicly that the independence of the Central Bank is, in his own words, legally achieved but not fully realized in practice. He described a direct gap between what the constitution says and the financial pressures monetary policy actually faces on the ground. For a sitting Central Bank governor to say that publicly is remarkable. It is an acknowledgement that external pressure has been overriding the institution's judgement and making that admission publicly is often the first step toward closing the gap it describes. Five denials in six months on the exact same topics is not normal behavior.

[00:06:03]When someone keeps saying something is not happening, that usually means it is.

[00:06:08]Al-Hakim back his own statement right after meeting with the US Treasury told us more than months of announcements have a date.

[00:06:17]His admission about Central Bank independence was a bigger deal than people noticed.

[00:06:22]You do not admit a structural problem publicly unless you are preparing to fix it. Mark Z said something this week that generated more conversation inside the dinar community than almost anything else said in recent memory and it deserves to be broken down carefully and honestly. He referenced the report from Iraqi news in which an Iraqi official described a meeting with the Federal Reserve during which the idea of pegging the Iraqi dinar to the US dollar at a one-to-one ratio was discussed.

[00:06:51]According to the report, the Federal Reserve agreed that it was a smart idea and indicated it could happen within 3 months. Mark Z was transparent about the limitations of what he was sharing. He noted that nobody knows exactly when that meeting took place, which makes the 3-month timeline impossible to pin down with precision. He also acknowledged the meeting could have occurred weeks ago, meaning the 3-month window may already be partially elapsed. He described two things being discussed openly on Iraqi national television by Iraqi officials.

[00:07:23]The first was the one dinar to one dollar peg. The second was a translation suggesting that the first step for the Iraqi economy would involve printing a new currency at that one-to-one value.

[00:07:35]Mark Z was clear about his personal reaction. He called it the best news he had seen in this entire investment and noted that the broadcast was watched by millions of people on Iraqi television.

[00:07:46]Now, this needs to be approached with both excitement and careful thinking.

[00:07:50]The report has not been officially confirmed through primary sources. The meeting date is unknown and translations from Arabic can carry nuances that shift meaning in important ways. But, the fact that a one-to-one rate was being discussed openly on Iraqi national television by Iraqi officials and connected to a Federal Reserve meeting is not something that can simply be dismissed. Jeff's earlier point connects directly here as well. He said Iraq will never achieve international standing or sanctions removal while the dinar stays below a penny. A one-to-one rate would not just cross that threshold, it would cross it by an extraordinary margin, and it would do so in a single move rather than a gradual adjustment.

[00:08:32]>> Part of me was excited when I read this report, and part of me wanted to stay careful.

[00:08:38]A one-to-one rate discussed on Iraqi television by actual officials is significant.

[00:08:44]This is not a foreign rumor or an anonymous claim.

[00:08:48]But, the meeting date is unknown and the timeline unconfirmed.

[00:08:52]The direction of the conversation is pointing somewhere real.

[00:08:57]Stay excited, but stay grounded.

[00:08:59]Sandy Ingram brought a very grounded and important reality check this week, and it balances some of the excitement in a way that every serious investor needs to hear clearly. She described Iraq as sitting at a crossroads and identified two conditions the United States has made clear must be met before Iraq can fully proceed with its economic ambitions. The first condition is that Iran-backed militants inside Iraq must be disarmed. Sandy pointed out that Iraq's continued economic success depends directly on this happening.

[00:09:30]Without security reform, the environment remains too unstable for the kind of international integration Iraq is trying to achieve. The second condition connects to something most investors do not fully appreciate. Sandy explained that Iraq is still operating under what she called shadow sanctions, and she pointed to a very specific detail that carries enormous weight. The United States still holds over 100 billion dollars of Iraq's currency sitting inside the United States Federal Reserve Bank. That is not a minor administrative fact. That is concrete, real financial leverage that gives Washington the direct ability to control what Iraq can and cannot do economically. Sandy's conclusion was direct. The United States has the final say on whether Iraq is allowed to proceed economically, not Iraq's parliament, not the Central Bank, not the new Prime Minister.

[00:10:22]The final switch is controlled in Washington, and it stays controlled there until the security conditions are actually met. Pimpy added a connected update from inside the government formation process itself. He confirmed that there are still two ministerial positions being disputed, meaning the cabinet is not 100% complete. He expressed his own impatience honestly, saying he hopes it gets resolved quickly because he is eager to see what the new Prime Minister is capable of doing.

[00:10:50]Pimpy also raised a fair question about Al-Zaidy's political skills, noting he is not sure yet whether the new PM can navigate competing factions as skillfully as Al-Sudani did. But he offered two important counterpoints.

[00:11:04]First, Al-Sudani is in Al-Zaidy's corner, giving the new PM access to his predecessor's experience and relationships. And second, Al-Zaidy's deep background in the banking sector is arguably the most valuable expertise a Prime Minister could have at exactly this moment in Iraq's history. Sandy always brings the honest context that keeps investors from getting carried away.

[00:11:28]Shadow sanctions and a hundred billion dollar held in the Federal Reserves are real leverage over Iraq's future.

[00:11:37]The militia situation is not optional.

[00:11:40]Washington has made that clear.

[00:11:42]Two cabinet positions still distributed means work remains before this is finished.

[00:11:48]Al-Zaydi banking bank account is an advantage, but the political test is still ahead. Reset intelligence raised a question this week that a surprising number of dinar investors have never fully thought through, and the answer is more important than most people realize. The question is simple.

[00:12:07]If Iraq revalues its currency, can you actually convert your dinar holdings into real spendable money? The answer is yes, but it depends entirely on which category of holder you fall into and whether you have prepared correctly before the rate event happens. Reset intelligence identified two distinct paths. The first is for Iraqi citizens who would convert through the Central Bank of Iraq directly or through authorized local banks inside Iraq. The second path is for international holders outside Iraq who would need to convert through a Tier 1 bank, specifically one that holds IMF correspondent standing.

[00:12:43]And the critical detail is that this banking relationship needs to be established before the rate event, not after it. That last point carries real urgency, and it connects directly to something Stephen and Tom discussed this week. That makes the preparation timeline feel even more pressing.

[00:13:00]Stephen asked Tom how many days Kuwait gave its citizens to exchange their currency after the 1991 revaluation.

[00:13:08]Most people assume the answer is 90 days because that is what was announced at the time. The actual answer was 43 days.

[00:13:15]Tom explained that Kuwait originally announced a 90-day window, but because certain bad actors in the United States were taking advantage of the system, the authorities closed the window early with no public warning and no grace period extension. One day it was open and then it simply was not. That combination of details, the need for a pre-established banking relationship, and a historical example of an exchange window closing without any notice creates a very clear picture for international dinar investors. The time to prepare is not after an announcement is made. The time is now while the options to get ready still exist. I always assumed there would be plenty of time after an announcement.

[00:13:57]But Kuwait's window closed early with zero warning, 43 days instead of 90, and nobody was told it was ending.

[00:14:06]The certain intelligence adding the tier one bank requirement makes this more urgent.

[00:14:13]The preparation window is already open and already closing.

[00:14:17]If you have not started that conversation with the qualified bank, start it now.

[00:14:22]Malaysian man closed out the week with an observation that provides essential context for everything else being discussed, and I think it is one of the most grounding perspectives shared across all the voices this week. He said that in his assessment, the Central Bank of Iraq has completed the first evaluation phase of its comprehensive banking reform strategy and is now actively moving into the second phase.

[00:14:45]That second phase involves working with international partners, specifically Oliver Wyman, to bring Iraq's banks up to global standards for full international integration. He then said something that newer investors in this community especially need to hear clearly. He said this did not just start yesterday. They have been working on this for a long time. That context matters enormously because the excitement around recent developments can make it feel like everything is suddenly accelerating out of nowhere.

[00:15:14]But Iraq's banking reform has been a long deliberate multi-phase process built over years of quiet institutional work that rarely made headlines but never actually stopped moving forward.

[00:15:25]Malichame also addressed something directly that comes up regularly in the community. He said the CBI will not come out and openly talk about a dinar revaluation and if you think they will, in his words, you are being misguided.

[00:15:39]Central banks around the world do not telegraph their monetary moves publicly before executing them. The signal is in the actions, the partnerships, the regulatory changes and the international meetings, not in the announcements. Ross added a connected layer by looking at the pressure Iraq's foreign reserves are currently under and connecting it to where the country's financial infrastructure is heading. He explained that Iraq still has to maintain massive dollar stockpiles just to cover imports, service debt and stabilize the dinar peg even as oil revenues are falling. That creates an expensive and increasingly unsustainable position where reserves are being consumed just to keep the current system running rather than being used to build genuine long-term strength. Ross connected that pressure to the development of digital settlement solutions explaining that efficient systems like on-demand liquidity models shift how a country manages its reserves. Instead of constantly burning through dollar holdings to cover daily needs, a digital settlement system allows reserves to be held more efficiently freeing up capacity to actually back a stronger currency value.

[00:16:45]He also noted that Iraq is already moving in this direction with the development of its digital dinar which aligns with the broader infrastructure changes being built inside Iraq's financial system right now. Malichame gave us the most grounded perspective of everything discussed this week.

[00:17:02]This reform process has been building quietly for years.

[00:17:06]Entering phase two with labor women is a significant and concrete step forward.

[00:17:12]The CBI will never announce an RV openly. Watching actions is the only way to see what is coming.

[00:17:20]Iraq cannot burning through reserve forever.

[00:17:24]The digital dinar is not just a technology project. It is a financial survival strategy. So that is everything worth covering from Iraq this week.

[00:17:33]Thanks for watching. This is Cassie and I will see you in the next video.