Shafaq News-Baghdad
Iraqi PrimeMinister Ali Al-Zaidi and US Special Presidential Envoy Tom Barrack concludedtalks in Baghdad on Tuesday, affirming a broad bilateral agenda coveringsecurity, energy, and trade.
In a joint statement, both sides identified completingIraq's disarmament process as a sharedpriority, underscoring the urgency of fully disbanding allarmed groups operating outside state authority and confining their weaponswithin official Iraqi military structures.
Baghdad has setan end-of-September deadline for that process. Some factions —including AsaibAhl Al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali— have expressed commitment to disarmament, whileothers, such as Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, the largestIran-aligned groups in Iraq, have rejected the timeline, conditioning anydisarmament on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country, alsoscheduled for September under an agreement between the US-led Coalition and theIraqi government.
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Energy AndCommercial Deals
Four specificenergy agreements were also endorsed in the joint statement. Iraq finalizedStarlink's operating license to provide internet services to Iraqi consumers,extending Elon Musk's satellite network into a major Arab market.
Negotiationswith Chevron to develop the West Qurna-2 and Nasiriyah oil fields were alsolaunched; Chevron had entered exclusive talks with Baghdad earlier this yearafter Iraq nationalized West Qurna-2 following US sanctions on Russia's Lukoil.
US companiesHKN, Western Zagros, and Hunt were cleared to resume operations under fullsecurity guarantees, and Baghdad and TI Capital advanced a memorandum ofunderstanding to rehabilitate the Kirkuk-Baniyas Pipeline as a northern oilexport route.
TheKirkuk-Baniyas corridor would carry Iraqi crude from northern oilfields toSyria's Mediterranean terminal at Baniyas, a route Baghdad views as a means ofdiversifying exports and reducing dependence on southern Gulf ports.
On gas, thejoint statement reaffirmed Excelerate Energy's project to develop an integratedLNG import terminal at Khor Zubair as the framework for expanding US-Iraqenergy cooperation on electricity.
Barrack InBaghdad, Al-Zaidi in Washington
Last May,Barrack described US readiness to work with Al-Zaidi on a "bold newagenda" centered on stability, prosperity, and economic cooperation,remarks made immediately after Iraq's parliament granted the new government itsconfidence. His June 15 visit to Baghdad was framed publicly as an opportunityto convey President Trump's direct support for the Al-Zaidi government andexplore new directions for the relationship.
Al-Zaidi isscheduled to visit Washington in mid-July upon an invitation from PresidentDonald Trump, with a focus on strategic ties and economic cooperation. The tripwill mark his first foreign visit since taking office.
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