Iraq PM to meet Trump in Washington over Iran ties

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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, as the US administration piles pressure on Baghdad to curb Iranian influence.

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His visit comes against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, Iraq’s main allies.

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Washington and Tehran’s enmity has long turned Iraq into a proxy battleground and left successive governments struggling to maintain a delicate balance between the two foes.

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Zaidi arrived in Washington on Monday for his first international visit since assuming office — a week-long trip during which he will meet Trump, US officials and representatives of oil companies.

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A businessman who came to power this year with US blessing after Trump vetoed another candidate, Zaidi vowed to boost Iraq’s fragile economy and to disarm the pro-Iran armed groups that have targeted US facilities.

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In an op-ed in the Washington Post ahead of his visit, Zaidi wrote that he leads “a government committed to ensuring that the state possesses the legitimate monopoly on the use of force”.

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His government has given armed groups, which Washington designates as terrorist organisations, until September 30 to disarm, coinciding with the end of the US-led anti-jihadist coalition’s mission.

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A senior Iraqi politician told AFP on condition of anonymity that even if the current government adopts a more US-friendly path, prioritising the economy, “it doesn’t mean that Iraq is turning against Iran”.

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Iraq “must maintain the long-standing balance” between its allies, he said.

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Last week, Iraq’s holy cities, home to Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines, hosted a massive funeral procession for Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Tehran.

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– A hard task –

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The Iraqi government believes that maintaining a state monopoly over arms is a must to attract investments.

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In his op-ed, Zaidi said his message to the United States is that Iraq “stands apart from regional alignments and conflicts, and chooses instead the path of development”.

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In a show of support, the United States has resumed cash shipments for Iraq’s oil revenue, which have been handled from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York since 2003.

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Washington had suspended the payments earlier this year as it pressured Baghdad to disarm the pro-Iran armed groups.

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While some armed groups said they will cooperate with Zaidi, others remain firm in their refusal to disarm.

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Iraq’s pro-Iran armed groups have seen their political and financial clout increase over the years, and have long called for the withdrawal of American troops deployed within the anti-jihadist coalition.

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During the Middle East war, they intervened in support of Tehran, targeting US facilities in Iraq more than 600 times.

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The senior politician said that some groups will likely not disarm “as long as there is a war in the region, neither they nor Iran would agree to it”.

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Last week, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed armed groups, said they opposed Zaidi’s visit to Washington.

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The groups said that they will strengthen their capacities, and warned against “replacing military occupation with an even more dangerous form of economic occupation”.

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– Investments –

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Oil-rich Iraq has been trying to move past decades of war and unrest, but it still suffers from poor infrastructure, failing public services, mismanagement and endemic corruption.

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In his op-ed, Zaidi said that in Washington he will create “opportunities that have a measurable economic impact” and wants “leading American companies to consider opportunities in developing Iraq’s infrastructure”.

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In recent months, Iraq has signed several deals with US companies in the oil and gas sector.

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In the United States, Zaidi is expected to sign more agreements, including one to establish a fund into which Iraq will deposit half-a-million barrels of oil per day in exchange for help to boost the country’s electricity supply.

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Like other oil producers, Iraq, a founding member of OPEC, was greatly affected by the Middle East war.

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It is hugely dependent on oil exports, which make up about 90 percent of its budget revenues, and the vast majority of its crude travels via the disputed Strait of Hormuz.

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