Overview
- Tom Barrack met Prime Minister Ali al‑Zaidi in Baghdad this week and the two issued a joint statement demanding the complete disarmament and disbandment of armed groups operating outside state control.
- Two Iran‑aligned factions, Asaib Ahl al‑Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, have pledged to hand over weapons to the state, while Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah al‑Nujaba say they will not disarm while foreign troops remain.
- Baghdad has set an end‑September deadline for disarmament that matches a planned phased withdrawal of the U.S.‑led coalition, creating a tight timetable for bringing militias under government authority.
- Prime Minister al‑Zaidi is preparing a mid‑July visit to Washington to seek U.S. backing for investment, trade deals and anti‑corruption reforms as he pushes to rebuild the economy and attract foreign capital.
- The shift signals a U.S. diplomatic reset but also raises security and political risks at home because Washington links deeper cooperation to curbing Iran‑aligned militias and Iraq must balance ties with both the U.S. and Tehran.