Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Zaidi Signs Four Deals With Iran

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrived in Tehran on July 23, 2026, for his first official visit to Iran since taking office in May. During the visit, al-Zaidi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed four cooperation agreements covering land freight transport, public administration and education, a sister-city partnership between Baghdad and Tehran, and the development of the Khosravi–Khanaqin–Baghdad railway.

The meeting at the Saadabad Complex occurred shortly after al-Zaidi met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. During those talks, the two leaders established a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of September 2026 and discussed investment and energy deals.

Al-Zaidi's diplomatic efforts aim to project Iraq as an independent regional actor, balancing its reliance on Iranian energy imports with its strategic relationship with the U.S. However, tensions remain. The U.S. has pressured Iraq to rein in Iranian-backed militias, while Iran has demanded that Baghdad prevent Kurdish opposition groups in northern Iraq from launching cross-border attacks. The visit coincided with Iranian drone and missile strikes against those opposition groups in the Kurdistan region.