WASHINGTON, May ⁠14 (Reuters) – ⁠Iraqi officials ⁠have approached the International Monetary Fund ​about securing financial assistance as a ‌result of the conflict ‌in the Middle East, ⁠a ⁠source close to the IMF said on Thursday.

Initial ​conversations took place last month during the spring meetings of the IMF ​and World Bank in Washington, and discussions ⁠are ongoing ⁠about how much ⁠funding ​Iraq would need and how any loan ​would be ⁠structured, the source said.

The war that began on February 28 with a massive U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against ⁠Iran and triggered Tehran’s closure of the Strait ⁠of Hormuz has rocked the entire Middle East, wreaking damage to infrastructure and economies.

Iraq has been hard hit by the war, with most of its oil exports – which represent nearly all government income – ⁠cut off by the closure of the critical waterway, which previously carried about one-fifth of the world’s ​crude oil.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing ​by Louise Heavens)

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.