Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq has yet to release September salary funding to any ministry despite the month nearing its end due to incomplete financing procedures, limited liquidity, and lower revenues, an informed source told Shafaq News on Monday.

The Finance Ministry’s Accounting Department had also not released funding for state employees’ salaries.

In August, salary funding was released near the end of the month and some ministry employees did not receive their pay until early September. A source told Shafaq News at the time that limited liquidity and lower revenues had delayed funding while authorities worked to secure the allocations needed for salaries.

Read more: Iraq turns to bank borrowing to cover August salaries amid oil-revenue collapse

On July 30, Finance Minister Faleh Al-Sari estimated that monthly salary obligations totaled about 7.8 trillion dinars ($5.96B), while the ministry faced a funding shortfall of roughly 3.3 trillion dinars ($2.52B) at the time. Three senior Finance Ministry officials later told Shafaq News that the government was moving to borrow more than 3 trillion dinars ($2.29B) from local private banks to help cover public-sector salaries amid lower oil revenues and tighter liquidity.

Finance Ministry data showed Iraq spent 44.627 trillion dinars ($34.09B) on public-sector salaries and social welfare in the first half of 2026, nearly 82% of total federal spending during the period. Oil accounted for about 79% of state revenue. The International Monetary Fund has warned that Iraq’s heavy reliance on oil revenues, high salary and pension spending, and rigid current expenditure leave public finances exposed to oil-market shocks and elevated financing needs.

The IMF also projects oil will continue to account for more than 90% of government revenue through 2030.

Read more: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed