Washington– President Donald Trump welcomes Iraq’s new prime minister to the White House on Tuesday after strongly supporting the political novice in his bid to take office.
Ali Al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of stalemate over the prime ministership following the parliamentary elections that took place last year. When Al-Zaidi was officially inaugurated as prime minister in April, Trump said in a social media post that it was “the beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our two countries — prosperity, stability, and success like we have never seen before.”
But Trump’s interest and involvement in the next leadership in Iraq began long before that statement.
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi arrives at the Iraqi parliament to attend the vote on his government in Baghdad, Iraq, May 14, 2026.
AP Photo/Hadi Mezban, file
Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran, initially said it would support former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the Trump administration considers too close to Tehran. The Republican president publicly declared his opposition to Maliki and threatened to cut off aid to Iraq if he was appointed, adding that “if we are there to help, the chances of success, prosperity, or freedom in Iraq are nil.”
The Iran issue is likely to come to the forefront of discussions on Tuesday. Iraq is under pressure to disarm a network of Iranian-backed militias operating in the country, some of which launched attacks on US bases and diplomatic facilities after the United States 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.
A Trump administration official said before the Oval Office meeting that the United States would make “informed” decisions based on Iraq’s efforts to disarm Iranian-backed militias within its borders. The official was granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s strategy before Al-Zaidi’s visit.
Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at think tank Chatham House, said he expects the United States to “put significant pressure on Al-Zaidi” to move forward with disarmament during his visit to Washington, and “Al-Zaidi will respond by saying, ‘But I need support — intelligence support, technical support, armed support.’”
Mansour said: “There is a scenario, if the Iraqi government begins to pursue these groups, it will also pursue the government.” “This is the scenario that I think the Iraqi government is concerned about.”
Al-Zaidi received Trump’s blessing, even though he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Janoub Islamic Bank, which was among the financial institutions banned by the Central Bank of Iraq in 2024 from dealing in dollars amid pressure from the United States to eliminate money laundering and transfer funds to Iran.
Since taking office, Al-Zaidi has made a public show of cracking down on corruption. His government conducted raids and arrested dozens of current and former lawmakers and government officials accused of corruption, including some linked to former Prime Minister Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani.
The Iraqi Prime Minister’s delegation to Washington includes a number of Iraqi businessmen and government officials, and Al-Zaidi’s office said in a statement that the goal of the visit is to “strengthen economic and development partnerships, attract investment, expand the role of American companies in implementing infrastructure projects” and continue developing the energy sector in the oil-rich country.
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