Washington Conditions Disarming Factions to Strengthen Partnership with Baghdad

A high-ranking American official affirmed that solidifying relations between the United States and Iraq necessitates Baghdad asserting its sovereignty and disarming armed groups. These remarks were made by U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, following his reception of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi at the Pentagon. Hegseth, in a published statement, clarified that enhancing the bilateral partnership requires Iraq to extend its authority and disarm militias allied with Iran. He stressed Washington's expectation that Iraqi security forces would assume a leading role in efforts to defeat ISIS. The Secretary noted that these armed groups are responsible for over 600 attacks targeting American personnel this spring. Hegseth concluded by stating that a stable and secure Iraq paves the way for robust and productive commercial and defense cooperation. In a related context, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bisent and his accompanying delegation at his residence in Washington. Al-Zaidi emphasized to Bisent that combating corruption and limiting weapons to state control represent top priorities for his government. He stressed that the Iraqi government is proceeding with implementing comprehensive reform and restructuring of the banking and insurance sectors, in addition to tax and customs reforms, with the aim of building a more efficient and sustainable economy. For his part, the U.S. Treasury Secretary expressed his country's support for the Iraqi government's directives and policies, particularly its endeavor to shift the relationship between the two countries from focusing on military presence to areas of investment, economic development, and business sector growth. Bisent affirmed the pursuit of achieving genuine economic growth by optimally utilizing Iraq's economic resources and potential. He pointed to the United States' readiness to provide assistance to Iraq and empower it to implement its economic plans and programs, overcome obstacles hindering development, and work on establishing a timeline to support the Iraqi economy and bolster paths of economic and financial reform.