Trump Touts 'Chemistry' With Iraq PM   07/15 06:20

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump gave Iraq's new prime minister an 
effusive welcome at the White House on Tuesday, promoting the "tremendous 
chemistry" between him and a fellow wealthy businessman who arrived at the seat 
of governmental power without any prior political experience.

   Ali al-Zaidi emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of 
deadlock over the premiership following last year's parliamentary elections. 
Trump endorsed al-Zaidi for the job after he threatened to cut off U.S. support 
for Iraq if another candidate became the country's next prime minister.

   "Mark my words, I knew what I was doing," Trump said in the Oval Office as 
he sat alongside al-Zaidi for his first visit outside Iraq as prime minister. 
"This man is going to be a great leader in the Middle East, beyond Iraq. His 
influence is going to spread all throughout the Middle East."

   Speaking through an interpreter, al-Zaidi said that he was conveying his 
greetings from the "oldest civilization in the world" and that the focus of his 
U.S. visit would be to announce an "economic partnership" between the two 
countries.

   The issue of Iran loomed large in the discussions Tuesday. Iraq has been 
under pressure to disarm a network of Iran-backed militias operating in the 
country, some of which launched attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities 
after the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in February. 
Officially, the Iraqi government has given non-state armed groups until the end 
of September to disarm, but some of the most powerful militias have said they 
have no intention of doing so.

   Al-Zaidi stressed on Tuesday that there will be no justification for their 
existence after Sept. 30. A Trump administration official said ahead of the 
Oval Office meeting that the U.S. will make "informed" decisions based on 
Iraq's efforts to disarm Iranian-backed militias inside its borders. The 
official insisted on anonymity to discuss the administration's strategy ahead 
of al-Zaidi's visit.

   Al-Zaidi has been called 'Trump of the Middle East'

   Iraq's dominant parliamentary bloc called the Coordination Framework, a 
coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran, initially said it would back 
former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the Trump administration viewed as 
too close to Tehran. Trump, a Republican, got personally involved, threatening 
to block support if al-Maliki returned to power.

   Since al-Zaidi's formal installation as prime minister-designate in April, 
the Trump administration has kept up its outreach to ensure the U.S. can wield 
significant sway in Iraq, particularly in extricating the Iranian influence 
that is deeply entrenched inside the country.

   The parallel backgrounds of Trump and al-Zaidi have also bolstered their 
rapport. Victoria Taylor, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic 
Council, noted that al-Zaidi has been likened to "Trump of the Middle East" 
considering his business background and lack of political experience.

   "When you value business success, I think then it's very appealing to look 
at an Iraqi prime minister who is likely a billionaire and can be really 
pointed to as a political outsider," she said.

   But Taylor added that "the reality is much more complicated," noting that 
al-Zaidi was chosen by the current political infrastructure in Iraq and will be 
"beholden in some way to that system."

   "I'm not always sure that there's a full appreciation of the challenge that 
this prime minister will face in actually trying to really dismantle core parts 
of the political system," she said, noting the obstacles that al-Zaidi will 
face as he tries to disarm the Iran-backed militias or challenge political 
corruption.

   Underscoring the complicated competing interests that al-Zaidi is 
confronting in Iraq, the new prime minister sidestepped a question about 
Trump's remarks on the 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

   "At that time, I wasn't involved in politics," al-Zaidi said. "Let's talk 
about the future."

   Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Chatham House think 
tank, said he expects that "the U.S. will put significant pressure on al-Zaidi" 
to move ahead with disarmament during his Washington visit "and Zaidi will 
respond by saying, 'But I need support -- intelligence support, technical 
support, armed support.'"

   "There is a scenario in which, if the Iraqi government starts going after 
these groups, they will also go after the government," Mansour said. "And this 
is a scenario that I think that the Iraqi government is apprehensive about."

   Oil pipeline deal is set to be signed, Iraqi officials say

   The two governments are also poised to finalize a significant energy deal.

   Two Iraqi officials said an agreement is slated to be signed Friday between 
Iraq, U.S. companies Chevron and TI Capital, and Qatar's UCC for construction 
of an oil pipeline that will connect southern Iraq's Basra to western Iraq's 
Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on 
Syria's coast. The pipeline is projected to carry about 2 million barrels of 
oil per day. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they 
were not authorized to comment publicly.

   Neither Trump nor al-Zaidi elaborated on the pending deal publicly during 
their Oval Office meeting, but the U.S. president said Iraq has "tremendous 
potential" because of its oil.

   Later, a senior Trump administration official said the U.S. is "facilitating 
conversation" between Iraq and Syria on future energy projects. The official 
spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations among the 
governments.

   Al-Zaidi cracks down on corruption

   Al-Zaidi received Trump's blessing, despite the fact that he was chairman of 
a bank, Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, that was among the financial institutions 
banned by Iraq's central bank in 2024 from dealing in dollars amid pressure 
from the U.S. to crack down on money laundering and funneling of funds to Iran.

   Since taking office, al-Zaidi has made a public show of cracking down on 
corruption. His government has conducted raids and arrested dozens of current 
and former lawmakers and government officials accused of corruption, including 
some affiliated with former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

   The Iraqi premier's delegation to Washington includes a number of Iraqi 
businessmen and government officials, and al-Zaidi's office said in a statement 
that the aim of the visit is to "strengthen economic and development 
partnerships, attract investment, and expand the role of U.S. companies in 
implementing infrastructure projects" and to further develop the oil-rich 
country's energy sector.