Currency Warfare in the Middle East: Currency Counterfeiting in the 1953 Iranian Coup, the 1990–1991 Gulf War, and Yemen’s Current Civil War

Abstract

ABSTRACT When and why do policymakers engage in currency warfare by counterfeiting their enemy’s currency during Middle Eastern conflicts? Currency warfare, defined as the application of weaponized monetary or military force directed against an enemy’s currency, is a common feature of Middle Eastern conflicts, but its study remains peripheral. This article explores when and why policymakers contemplate or implement currency warfare via counterfeiting by examining: the 1953 American-backed coup in Iran, the 1990–1991 Gulf War, and the Iranian counterfeiting of the Yemeni rial. This study argues that states weaponize counterfeit currency when they perceive a threat to their national security interest and when they have a strategy of subversion.