{"id":7855,"date":"2026-07-13T17:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/iraqi-pm-heads-to-us-seeking-balance-between-security-and-economy\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T17:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:35:17","slug":"iraqi-pm-heads-to-us-seeking-balance-between-security-and-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/13\/iraqi-pm-heads-to-us-seeking-balance-between-security-and-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraqi PM heads to US seeking balance between security and economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi<\/a> is travelling to the United States for talks with President Donald Trump, in what will be his first foreign trip since taking office in May.<\/p>\n

During this week\u2019s meetings<\/a>, al-Zaidi is expected to sign agreements in energy and trade while also boosting investment with US companies.<\/p>\n

Iraqi government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi told reporters on Sunday the visit to Washington, DC, will mark a shift in the countries\u2019 relations \u201cfrom a framework of crisis management to a strategic economic partnership\u201d.<\/p>\n

The focus, he said, would not be about striking a \u201ctemporary\u201d agreement but about establishing \u201ca durable, long-term partnership that serves the shared interests of both countries\u201d.<\/p>\n

Al-Aboudi said oil would be \u201ca top priority\u201d during the visit as the Iraqi government seeks to increase production and find alternative export hubs to lessen the consequences of any future closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Iraq was one of the countries badly hit by the shutting down of the critical waterway in recent months due to the US-Israel war on Iran, as about 90 percent of its 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of exports passes through it.<\/p>\n

Al-Aboudi said Iraq\u2019s proposal to establish an energy and development fund with the US would be on the table to finance any projects that would be agreed upon, especially in the energy sector.<\/p>\n

Al-Zaidi had previously said the fund would initially be structured in oil exports of 500,000 bpd with the goal of increasing to as much as two million bpd.<\/p>\n

The prime minister has also said Iraq seeks to increase oil production to seven million bpd over the next three years, up from its current output of about 4.5 million bpd.<\/p>\n

\u201cIraq is in need of such kind of cooperation, especially with a partner like the United States to enhance and strengthen its capacity, particularly in the energy, oil, gas, electricity, and petrochemicals sectors,\u201d said Abdulrahman Almashhadani, an Iraqi economic expert and professor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the critical question remains whether Iraq can provide a safe and stable environment that would encourage US companies to come to Iraq,\u201d he said. \u201cThis issue is sensitive and unresolved; it largely depends on the government\u2019s ability to deliver on its commitments to restrict weapons to state control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Large delegation<\/h2>\n

Sources told Al Jazeera the Iraqi delegation to the US comprises more than 70 people, including key ministers, the head of the central bank, the national security adviser, lawmakers and businessmen.<\/p>\n

A well-informed source said meetings with US administration officials and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also been planned. According to the source, who asked not to be named, Iraq is seeking to secure an IMF loan of up to $8bn.<\/p>\n

A separate well-informed source told Al Jazeera that the disarming of pro-Iran Iraqi armed factions and restricting weapons under state authority, as well as Baghdad\u2019s relationship with Tehran, are expected to be among the issues the US side will raise during the visit.<\/p>\n

In his first speech<\/a> in parliament as prime minister, al-Zaidi had promised that the state would have control over weapons in a country where paramilitary groups, including many supported by Iran, have been powerful since the 2003 US-led war on Iraq.<\/p>\n

Some armed factions said they would abide by the prime minister\u2019s declaration, but others \u2013 particularly the powerful ones that launched missiles and drones at US facilities during the war on Iran \u2013 rejected it.<\/p>\n

In a statement released hours before al-Zaidi\u2019s trip to Washington, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups in the region, including Iraq, rejected the prime minister\u2019s visit and its outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not give a blank cheque for all government policies. We warn against replacing military occupation with an economic occupation that is even more dangerous,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe option of defending Iraq and its legitimate interests will remain on the table,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Al-Zaidi has said his government is eager to implement a 2024 deal made with the US-led coalition\u2019s military mission in Iraq to end its presence as combat forces by the end of September.<\/p>\n

Some of the factions that rejected the prime minister\u2019s disarmament statement said they would wait to see what happens on September 30 and then act accordingly.<\/p>\n

Ehsan al-Shammary, a professor of international studies at Baghdad University, said the economic initiatives and the backing that al-Zaidi is seeking from Trump during Monday\u2019s talks would inevitably be overshadowed by the issue of Iran\u2019s influence in Iraq.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he added, it is the issue that will determine the success or failure of a \u201cvery important\u201d visit that could \u201credefine\u201d bilateral relations and \u201cgive it a push\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAl-Zaidi has little room for manoeuvre. He should choose either to align with the United States or move closer to Iran,\u201d said al-Shammary. \u201cI do not believe Washington is willing to accept a divided sphere of influence in Iraq alongside Tehran. That is why the prime minister\u2019s task appears to be almost impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is travelling to the United States for talks with President Donald Trump, in what will be his first foreign trip since taking office in May. During this week\u2019s meetings, al-Zaidi is expected to sign agreements in energy and trade while also boosting investment with US companies. Iraqi government spokesman Haider … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}