Iraqi authorities paid $490 million to Kuwait as part of UN-sanctioned war reparations on Monday.
“Iraq paid $490 million in compensation last Tuesday from the amount determined by the UN over the ousted regime’s invasion of Kuwait in the early 1990s,” a statement from the Iraqi embassy in Kuwait read.
Iraq aims to finish the rest of the payments at the beginning of next year. Taking account of the last payment, Iraq stands to owe a total of $629 million due to the invasion of Kuwait. Earlier, Iraqi authorities pledged to finish out the rest of the payments by the end of 2021.
Shortly after the Iraqi invasion led by Saddam Hussein, the UN sanctioned Iraq to pay $52,4 billion in compensation to persons, firms, and governmental bodies who claimed harm as a result of the Iraqi occupation.
Iraq is able to finance the payment of the reparations by imposing a 2% tax on Iraqi oil and oil product sales.
