Trump and Iraq’s prime minister pledge oil deals at White House
Donald Trump and Ali al-Zaidi said the US and Iraq would expand economic ties as both leaders pointed to a full US troop withdrawal by Sept. 30.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi used a White House meeting Tuesday to promise closer economic ties, with oil at the center of the talks, Al Jazeera reported. The meeting also put a date on a sensitive security issue: both leaders said remaining US forces in Iraq would leave by Sept. 30.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iraq had major potential because of its oil and said the two countries would make “a lot of deals,” according to Al Jazeera. He said the effort would create jobs in both countries and lead to more Iraqi oil production.
Al-Zaidi described the visit as the start of an “economic partnership,” Al Jazeera reported. He said relations between Washington and Baghdad were moving away from a military focus and toward an economic one.
The Iraqi government had said before the trip that it expected several oil and gas agreements to be signed during al-Zaidi’s visit to the United States, according to Al Jazeera. Trump praised al-Zaidi during the meeting, calling him “a fantastic champion, a new champion.”
Security and militia questions
The troop withdrawal pledge would apply to the remaining US forces in Iraq, believed to number fewer than 2,000, Al Jazeera reported. US troops were deployed in Iraq during the war against ISIL, also known as ISIS, and their presence has remained a point of tension in Iraqi politics.
Al-Zaidi has also pledged that armed factions operating in Iraq will disarm by Sept. 30, the same date given for the US withdrawal, according to Al Jazeera. In his first speech to parliament as prime minister, he promised to disarm Iraq’s paramilitary groups, which have held influence since the 2003 US-led invasion.
Al Jazeera reported that al-Zaidi has not explained how he plans to carry out that pledge. Shortly before he left for Washington, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group that includes Iran-backed armed factions in the region, said it would reject any outcomes from his US visit.
The meeting followed Trump’s earlier support for al-Zaidi, a businessman with no prior political background, in Iraq’s contest for prime minister, Al Jazeera reported. Trump had publicly opposed former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom Al Jazeera described as a divisive figure seen as close to Iran; al-Maliki later dropped out of contention in April.
Oil pressure and the Iran conflict
Iraq’s domestic politics have long been shaped by pressure from both Washington and Tehran, Al Jazeera reported. The meeting came as Iraq has also been affected by the US-Israeli war with Iran, which Al Jazeera said began on Feb. 28.
Al Jazeera reported that Iraq’s economy has been hit hard by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. About 90 percent of Iraq’s 3.4 million barrels per day in fossil fuel exports pass through that waterway, according to the report.
The fighting has also raised doubts about the future of a June memorandum of understanding that had brought a temporary pause in fighting, reopened the Strait of Hormuz and lifted a US naval blockade on Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking at the White House, al-Zaidi said Iraq needs a “fair share” from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Al Jazeera. He said Iraq is seeking a higher oil production quota because of the damage caused by the war against ISIL.
Al-Zaidi said Iraq suffered more than $400bn in damage and that some Iraqis still have destroyed homes and live in camps, Al Jazeera reported. He said his plan to return displaced Iraqis to their homes is why he wants OPEC to grant Iraq a larger share.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.