Trump welcomes Iraq’s new prime minister amid Iran tensions

President Donald Trump welcomed Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, to the White House on Tuesday. Al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as a consensus candidate after months of deadlock following last year’s parliamentary elections.

Trump openly embraced al-Zaidi in April, when he was named prime minister-designate, calling it the “beginning of a tremendous new chapter” between the two countries and pointing to “prosperity, stability, and success.” The president had earlier opposed Nouri al-Maliki, the choice favored by Iraq’s Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran, and had threatened to cut off U.S. aid if Maliki was appointed.

Iran-aligned militias in Iraq are now at the center of the bilateral agenda. Baghdad has ordered armed groups to disarm by the end of September, but some of the strongest militias will not comply. Several of those groups have attacked U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities since the war involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran began in February. Before the meeting, a Trump administration official put it this way: the United States would make “informed” decisions based on Iraq’s efforts to disarm the groups.

Al-Zaidi once chaired Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, one of eight Iraqi banks barred from dollar transactions in 2024 as Iraq’s central bank moved under U.S. pressure to crack down on money laundering and the movement of funds toward Iran. The Treasury Department separately identified Al-Huda Bank on January 29, 2024, as a primary money-laundering concern tied to terrorist financing by Iran.

On April 8, 2026, the State Department condemned attacks on U.S. diplomats and facilities in Baghdad launched from Iraqi territory by Iran-aligned militia groups. On May 7, it announced sanctions on Iran-aligned actors exploiting Iraq’s oil wealth and undermining Iraqi sovereignty. Iraq is a vital U.S. partner on regional security issues, and the joint U.S.-Iraq statement on the coalition’s military mission set that mission to end no later than the end of September 2025.

Washington is likely to push hard for disarmament, while Baghdad is expected to seek intelligence, technical and military support. Investment and oil and gas agreements are also expected to come up.