With his first trip to Washington only weeks away, Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi told The National in an exclusive interview that this is the beginning of a new chapter for his country.
“With the withdrawal of the final US troops from Iraq on September 30, the relationship with the US will transition from military to economic,” Mr Al Zaidi said. Under a 2024 deal between Baghdad and Washington, coalition forces exited federal Iraq by September last year, relocating to the Kurdistan region, and are supposed to fully withdraw from the country by September this year.
However, the role of US troops is expected to continue in an advisory capacity, especially to help fight against ISIS in neighbouring Syria. Most US troops from Syria relocated to Erbil earlier this year.
Iran-aligned militia groups inside Iraq have also tied their own disarmament process to the September withdrawal date. Rather than a permanent exit, the transition is expected to lead to bilateral security partnerships between Washington and Baghdad.
“In the future, US companies will receive top priority if they want to do business in Iraq," the official said, while the country's ministries of oil, electricity and communications have all been directed to prioritise reputable US companies, focusing heavily on energy, telecoms, technology and development.
“The Ministerial Council for the Economy has approved major oil projects with international companies, including Chevron, Halliburton and HKN,” he told The National. Iraq’s telecoms sector is in talks with Starlink.
Speaking from his office in Baghdad, Mr Al Zaidi detailed plans for a joint energy and development fund with the US, financed through the equivalent of 500,000 barrels per day, with funds to be deployed across a range of investments, including electricity and infrastructure projects. He also said that 500,000 bpd would go towards helping to refill the US strategic petroleum reserve.
“We will discuss with the US side the energy and development project, beginning with 500,000 barrels per day and potentially expanding to two million barrels per day,” Mr Al Zaidi explained, with the numbers dependent on "economic and production conditions, and possibly going beyond the Opec quota" limitations.
“We are working to secure a fair production quota for Iraq that reflects the country’s capabilities,” Mr Al Zaidi stated. “Over the next three years, we aim to increase Iraq’s oil production to seven million barrels per day and we have communicated this vision to American companies."
While he denied Iraq has any plans to leave Opec, he raised the possibility of suspending Iraq’s membership if the country is blocked from increasing capacity. “Our pursuit of a strong economic partnership with the US is driven exclusively by Iraq’s national interests and is not directed against any other country,” Mr Al Zaidi said. “We are preparing an international sovereignty conference reaffirming that Iraq’s decisions belong solely to Iraqis and promoting an Iraq free of foreign forces and armed groups operating outside state authority.”
Iraq's Oil Ministry also said on Thursday that the country does not intend to leave Opec, but it will consider doing so if demands for a higher production quota are not met. Iraq, which relies on oil for the bulk of its income, has a quota of 4.3 million bpd for July. It pumped 1.48 million bpd in May, according to Opec data, down from almost 4.2 million bpd in February before Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
The new government has already begun the process of disarming militias inside Iraq, with the Prime Minister emphasising that the deadline for doing so will coincide with the planned departure of American forces in September.
Armed groups in Iraq grew out of a spirit of resistance, Mr Al Zaidi said. But after September 30, the country will enter a new phase. “Once US troops withdraw, there will be no justification for any resistance or armed factions."
While investigations have found "no evidence" that recent attacks against Saudi Arabia during the Iran war originated from Iraq, Mr Al Zaidi also told The National that he plans to hold state security forces responsible for any attacks launched from Iraqi soil going forward.
The divide between factions backing integration and those aligned with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the main sticking point, given Baghdad's limited influence over them.
In recent weeks, two powerful militias announced their willingness to integrate into the state. One group, Saraya Al Salam, is led by Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr. The other, Asaib Ahl Al Haq, is led by Qais Al Khazali, a long-time Tehran supporter. He has shifted his focus to domestic politics with an eye on a cabinet position.
Meanwhile, the government has begun confronting corruption. Mr Al Zaidi described it as a "systemic phenomenon" that he plans to suffocate.
On Tuesday, Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court announced the arrest of a former official and said a detained senior oil official confessed in a graft case. Total funds recovered in the case now exceed 98 billion dinars ($74 million) and $11 million, the court said.
Iraq ranks 136th out of 181 on Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, with oil sector contracts a frequent target of graft investigations. Corruption has been rife under successive governments elected after the US-led invasion of 2003, which toppled Saddam Hussein. Billions of dollars given to the government for reconstruction were misused by authorities.
The widespread corruption has crippled the country’s efforts to overcome the effects of war and UN-imposed economic sanctions. In 2021, Iraq's president at the time, Barham Salih, estimated that the country had lost $150 billion to embezzlement since 2003.
“I’ve begun measures in every ministry and directorate to choke off any avenue for it,” Mr Al Zaidi said, adding that future government contracts would be posted online in an open and transparent way.
