The United States threatened senior Iraqi politicians with sanctions targeting the Iraqi state if Iran-backed militias are represented in the next government, four sources told Reuters in an X post by Timour Azhari published between 2:46 PM and 3:17 PM UTC on January 23, 2026. The threat is linked to Iraq's critical supply of dollars via the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to the Reuters report by Maha Eldahan and Humeyra Pamuk cited in Azhari's post. This development emerged during a 31-minute reporting window ending at 3:17 PM UTC today. No official statements from the U.S. government, Iraqi authorities, or the involved politicians were available in sources reviewed in this period.
