BAGHDAD (AP) — A senior Iraqi central bank official says the country has seen a sharp spike in demand for U.S. dollars it sells because of demand from neighboring countries such as Iran that are facing hard currency shortfalls.

Deputy central bank governor Mudhhir Mohammed Salih said Thursday he believes opportunistic Iraqi traders are buying up dollars to resell them abroad.

He says that is putting a heavy burden on Iraq’s efforts to keep its own currency, the dinar, stable.

Iran’s central bank governor acknowledged last week that the “psychological effects” of new U.S. sanctions were partly to blame for devaluing that country’s currency. The sanctions are aimed at pressuring Tehran to abandon its disputed nuclear program.