Trump and Ali al-Zaidi Forge Strategic Iraq-US Economic Partnership

Ali al-Zaidi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, arrived in Washington on Monday for a week-long visit to transition bilateral relations from crisis management to a strategic economic partnership. Meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 14, al-Zaidi sought to attract U.S. investment in infrastructure and energy to diversify Iraq's economy and create jobs. Key objectives include signing oil and gas memorandums of understanding to increase production to seven million barrels per day within three years and establishing alternative export routes to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been disrupted by the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.

Strategic cooperation is conditioned on Iraq's ability to curb Iranian influence. The United States has pressured Baghdad to disarm pro-Iran armed factions, and al-Zaidi has subsequently ordered these groups to disarm by September 30. In a gesture of support, the U.S. recently resumed cash shipments of Iraq's oil revenue, which had been suspended earlier this year to pressure the disarmament process. The two nations are also pursuing a pipeline project connecting Basra to Turkey and Syria involving U.S. companies Chevron and TI Capital Management WLL.

These diplomatic efforts face internal opposition from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Tehran-aligned militias that rejected the visit and warned against an economic occupation. The visit occurs amidst high regional instability following the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike.