Trump meets with Iraq prime minister at White House, vows ‘a lot of deals’

US President Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi held talks at the White House focused on strengthening economic relations and increasing Iraq's oil production. The meeting represented a significant diplomatic moment, coming after Trump had publicly supported al-Zaidi's candidacy for the prime ministerial position earlier in the year and opposed Iraq's former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a figure viewed as having close ties to Iran. Al-Maliki subsequently withdrew from contention in April.

Trump emphasized Iraq's substantial economic potential, particularly regarding its oil resources. "Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we're going to be doing a lot of deals," Trump stated. He pledged that the partnership would create jobs for both countries and result in significant increases in oil extraction. The Iraqi government had previously indicated it expected several oil and gas agreements to be finalized during al-Zaidi's visit.

Al-Zaidi characterized the visit as unprecedented, describing it as the beginning of an "economic partnership" that represented a fundamental shift in US-Iraqi relations from military to economic focus. Both leaders announced that the remaining US military forces in Iraq, believed to number fewer than 2,000, would completely withdraw by September 30. Al-Zaidi made a parallel commitment that armed factions operating across Iraq would disarm by the same date, though he did not specify how this ambitious goal would be achieved.

Iraq has long navigated competing influences from Tehran and Washington, with tensions surrounding the continued US military presence, originally deployed during the conflict with ISIS, and the influence of Iran-aligned armed groups. In his first parliamentary speech as prime minister, al-Zaidi had pledged to disarm the country's various paramilitary groups, which have wielded significant power since the 2003 US-led invasion. However, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of Iran-backed armed groups, stated it would reject any outcomes of al-Zaidi's visit. Iraq's economy has been particularly affected by Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 90 percent of its 3.4 million barrels per day of fossil fuel exports pass.