Iraq seeks IMF financial assistance after Iran war disruption - Reuters
Iraq has approached the International Monetary Fund about securing financial assistance as a result of the war involving Iran, a source close to the IMF told Reuters on Thursday.
Initial talks took place last month during the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, with discussions continuing over how much funding Iraq may need and how any loan could be structured, the source said.
Iraq has been hit hard by disruptions linked to the war that began on Feb. 28, with most of its oil exports curtailed by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global crude shipments.
More Iranians are moving back in with family or taking on roommates after losing jobs and struggling to keep up with rising rents in major cities, according to messages sent to Iran International.
“I worked at a petrochemical company and got fired. Since we can no longer afford rent, my wife, two children and I have moved back into my parents’ house,” one citizen told Iran International.
Another, a woman supporting her household alone, said she was forced to share her home after losing her job at a restaurant.
“I am the head of my household and after losing my job at a restaurant, I had no choice but to get a roommate to reduce rent and living costs while raising my teenage child,” she told Iran International.
Shargh newspaper reported on Thursday that more tenants in Tehran and other large cities are turning to shared housing, returning to parents’ homes or leaving the capital altogether as rent and living costs climb.
The newspaper cited residents who said they were searching for roommates for the first time after years of living independently, while others described plans to move back with family members or relocate to smaller cities after losing income.
A 45-year-old woman who had lived alone in central Tehran for two decades told Shargh she was considering taking in roommates because she could no longer afford rent on her own.
“More than two decades passed living alone and now I have to change my standards,” she told the newspaper. “Paying 400 million rials ($220) in rent in Tehran’s Bahar neighborhood is impossible for me.”
Another resident said he and his brother were looking for a third housemate after his workplace suspended operations and stopped paying salaries.
File photo: Iranians move household belongings as soaring rents and economic pressure force many families to move back in with parents or relatives.
Reverse migration from Tehran
Shargh said some residents were preparing to leave Tehran entirely after years in the capital, describing what it called a wave of reverse migration driven by economic hardship and shrinking work opportunities.
One editor told the newspaper she was returning to her hometown Kashan in her mid-40s after more than two decades in Tehran because rising costs and declining work in publishing left her unable to continue living independently.
“I thought I would return to Kashan after retirement, not in middle age because I can no longer survive economically in Tehran,” she told Shargh.
The report also pointed to signs of tighter housing supply, citing online property listings and real estate agents who said available rental units had declined while demand increased, particularly after displacement linked to the conflict with Israel.
Erosion of independence
Sociologist Abdolvahab Shahlibar told Shargh that shared housing in Iran is increasingly a financial necessity rather than a lifestyle choice.
“Efforts to improve quality of life have in many cases been replaced by efforts to preserve basic survival,” Shahlibar told the newspaper, warning that being forced to return to parents’ homes or abandon independent living could reshape social relationships and personal identity.
Countries should pay Iran annual fees for fiber-optic cables that pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian lawmaker said, saying that hundreds of billions of dollars in financial transactions move through the lines each day.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a God-given treasure, like other mines and reserves placed at Iran’s disposal,” said Hossein Ali Hajideligani, a member of Iran parliament’s presiding board.
Countries should pay Iran annual fees for fiber-optic cables that pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian lawmaker said, saying that hundreds of billions of dollars in financial transactions move through the lines each day.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a God-given treasure, like other mines and reserves placed at Iran’s disposal,” said Hossein Ali Hajideligani, a member of Iran parliament’s presiding board.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for the digital economy, with several undersea fiber-optic cables running across the seabed and linking India and Southeast Asia to Europe through the Persian Gulf states and Egypt.
Iran had previously warned that submarine cables in the Strait of Hormuz were a vulnerable point for the region’s digital economy, raising concerns about potential attacks on critical infrastructure.
Last week, IRGC-linked media called for Iran to generate revenue from undersea internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz, framing the waterway not only as an energy and shipping chokepoint but also as a digital pressure point.
Hajieligani said Iran should also impose fees on ships passing through the waterway, citing guidance he attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s messages.
He also called for an end to negotiations with the United States, saying Washington had “miscalculated” and was using the process to buy time rather than accept what he called Iran’s “absolute right.”
He said the US was the one that sought a ceasefire and alleged that Washington was after buying time for domestic political purposes.
Parham Mehrabi, 18, was killed by direct fire from security forces in Mashhad on January 8, 2026, while standing alongside his father, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.
His death occurred during the January Massacre, a nationwide crackdown on anti-establishment protests that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people across Iran.
Witnessing the shooting from just a few meters away, Parham's father immediately retrieved his son’s body.
Iran’s foreign minister accused the United Arab Emirates on Thursday of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, escalating Tehran’s criticism of regional states during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi.
Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in response to comments by the Emirati representative and added that he had avoided naming the UAE in his main speech “for the sake of unity.”
