Dozens of people protest in Baghdad against the government’s devaluation of the currency

(10 Oct 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Baghdad, Iraq - 10 October 2026 1. Woman leading protest and chanting (Arabic): “O people, don’t say it is not my business, stand up and protest” 2. Protester chanting (Arabic): “The thieves stole from us in the name of religion.” 3. Various of protesters chanting in Arabic: “O people. you have the full responsibility, don’t say it is not my business.” 4. Various of protesters chanting on street: “Shame on you, Dollar; you corrupt even the ruler” 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hala Qassim, protester from Baghdad: “We came out today to protest the high cost of living, and because the government changed and raised the exchange rate of Dollar. Now, we are facing a price hike in markets. It is a problem and the poor people specifically are damaged the most from this issue.” 6. Various of protestors holding banners in the city centre (Arabic): “No to put the cost of crises on the burden of youth and toilers’ classes.” And “The go by economy, we sell oil, and we lose dignity.” 7. People watching the protest 8. Cars passing in Tahrir Square 9. Protestors standing at Tahrir Square in the city centre 10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahir al Zorani, protester from Baghdad: “We are against the raise of dollar price, because this is against the poor people, simple people, government employees, and even the retired people. It affects them all. The salary will not be sufficient; it will lose three-quarters of its value.” 11. Various of protesters marching and chanting: “Shame on you Dollar, you corrupt even the ruler” 12. Various of protesters in Baghdad STORYLINE: Dozens of people protested Saturday in Baghdad against the government’s decision to devalue the Iraqi dinar. Protesters chanted slogans criticizing the government’s decision, such as “O people, don’t say it is not my business, stand up and protest” and “The thieves stole from us in the name of religion.” Iraq devalued its currency, changing the official exchange rate from 1,300 dinars to the U.S. dollar to 1,500 dinars to the dollar. The country's finance ministry said in a statement that the new exchange rate had been decided in a meeting of Iraq's cabinet the night before "to meet the relevant financial, economic, and monetary requirements." The previous exchange rate was set in 2023. In practice, there has always been a gap between the official rate and the market rate used by exchange shops. That gap had widened in recent months as a result of the U.S.-Iran war - which has sometimes spilled over into Iraq - and disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq's economy relies heavily on oil exports, most of which were shipped via the Strait before the war. Since the war started, Iraq has resorted to shipping oil over land through Syria for export, but the route is more expensive and less efficient. The unofficial rate had risen to more than 1,600 to the dollar before the official devaluation was announced. After the announcement of the new official exchange rate, the market rate jumped to more than 1,700 dinars to the dollar. AP Video by Ali Jabar =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...