The US, UN and EU currently operate sanctions programmes covering Iraq, targeting individuals deemed to have illicitly enriched themselves during the Presidency of Saddam Hussein, who was deposed in a US-led invasion in 2003, and imposing embargoes on the sale of arms to non-state actors in the country. A US programme also explicitly sanctions individuals and entities engaged in violence against the Iraqi government and peacekeeping forces which support it.
On 5th October 2023 the UN Iraq Sanctions Committee removed Walid Hamid al-Tikriti, the former governor off Basra and member of Saddam Hussein’s administration, from its sanctions list.
Sanction Name
UN Security Council Regulations Against Iraq
First Imposed
Last updated
Targets
Asset Freeze and Arms Embargo:
• All funds belonging to Saddam Hussein, senior members of his administration and their immediate family members. A ban on the sale of arms to end users in Iraq, with the exception of international peacekeeping forces and the Iraqi government.
Exemptions
1. The Government of Iraq is exempt from the arms embargo, although prohibitions on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as well as on ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150km still apply.
Sanction Name
Council Common Position on Iraq
SANCTIONS
First Imposed
Last updated
Targets
Asset Freeze and Arms Embargo:
• All funds belonging to Saddam Hussein, senior members of his administration and their immediate family members. A ban on the sale of arms to end users in Iraq, except to international peacekeeping forces and the Iraqi government.
Exemptions
1. All petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas exported by Iraq, as well as payments for such goods, are exempt from sanctions in order to promote the economic reconstruction of Iraq and the restructuring of its debt.
2. The Government of Iraq is exempt from the arms embargo.
On 5th October 2023 following actions by the UN, SECO removed Walid Hamid al-Tikriti, the former governor off Basra and member of Saddam Hussein’s administration, from its sanctions list.
Sanction Name
Order Establishing Economic Measures Against The Republic Of Iraq
SANCTIONS
First Imposed
Last updated
Targets
Asset Freeze, Arms Embargo and Trade Restrictions:
• Individuals and entities associated with the former government of Saddam Hussein. This includes financial sanctions and a ban on trading arms and stolen cultural objects.
Exemptions
1. All petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas exported by Iraq, as well as payments for such goods, are exempt from sanctions in order to promote the economic reconstruction of Iraq and the restructuring of its debt.
2. The Government of Iraq is exempt from the arms embargo.
Sanction Name
The Iraq Stabilization and Insurgency Sanctions Regulations
SANCTIONS
First Imposed
Last updated
Targets
Specially Designated National:
• Individuals and entities associated with the former government of Saddam Hussein and any parties determined to be committing acts of violence which threaten the peace, stability and economic reconstruction of Iraq following the US-led invasion of 2003.
Trade Restrictions:
• Prohibition on the possession or trade in Iraqi cultural property or other items of archaeological, historical, cultural or religious importance deemed to have been illegally removed from the Iraq National Museum, the National Library, and other locations in Iraq since August 1990.
Exemptions
1. Under three General Licences, OFAC authorises all transactions involving 10 state bodies as well as the transfer of claims that were booked in the US, as of 23rd May 2003, against the Iraqi Government for unpaid loans and other debts.
Links 1
On 6th October 2023 following actions by the UN, SECO removed Walid Hamid al-Tikriti, the former governor off Basra and member of Saddam Hussein’s administration, from its sanctions list.
Sanction Name
Iraq (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
SANCTIONS
First Imposed
Last updated
Targets
Asset Freeze and Arms Embargo:
• All funds belonging to Saddam Hussein, senior members of his administration and their immediate family members. A ban on the sale of arms to end users in Iraq, except international peacekeeping forces and the Iraqi government.
Exemptions
1. All petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas exported by Iraq, as well as payments for such goods, are exempt from sanctions in order to promote the economic reconstruction of Iraq and the restructuring of its debt.
2. The Government of Iraq is exempt from the arms embargo.
