News Summary

• Iraq is a state heavily dependent on imports, from food and medicines to appliances, as well as raw materials for its industries.
• Its one big export is oil, but it sits on such a huge supply of the natural resource that revenues from the sale of oil abroad offset the imports.
• Things have changed, however, since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February, and the subsequent end to the free flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Now, Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has described the country as “facing extraordinary economic challenges”