Al-Zaidi: Our Policy Is to Maintain Distinctive Relations Between Iraq and Gulf States

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi announced on Friday that Iraq will soon be free of militias and weapons outside the control of state security forces, affirming that Iraq will not participate in any regional war.

In an interview with a local television station today, Al-Zaidi stated, “By June 30, 2027, there will no longer be any weapons outside the state’s framework. Monopolizing weapons within the state is a final, irreversible decision. Iraq is a state that has militias, not militias that possess a state.”

He added, “The absence of foreign forces means the removal of the justification previously cited for bearing arms. There are no American soldiers in Iraq, not even in an advisory capacity. We have succeeded in sparing Iraq from imminent international isolation, which was only days away. Iraq was threatened with sanctions and the withdrawal of embassies, and we managed to overcome that danger. The Western community had become convinced that the state had been hijacked by certain groups.”

He further noted, “We have completed the weapons file with three militias and are negotiating to finalize it with two others in the coming period. Iraq no longer requires military relations, and there are currently no foreign soldiers or advisors in the country. We will be a point of convergence, not hostility, and we will support de-escalation and extinguishing the fuse of crisis.”

Al-Zaidi said, “We have understandings regarding the departure of Turkish forces and the handover of the Bashiq airbase to the Iraqi Army. We also have understandings with the Yezidi forces to hand over Mount Sinjar and integrate their elements into the Popular Mobilization Forces.”

Al-Zaidi added, “Our policy is to maintain distinguished relations with Gulf states. The visit to Saudi Arabia was pre-planned and sent a positive message to the Kingdom. I discussed regional security and the future of relations between the two countries with the Saudi Crown Prince. We are working to build distinguished relations with Saudi Arabia and strengthen ties with Gulf states.”

He also mentioned that “oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz are fluctuating. The previous decision to devalue the dollar exchange rate was incorrect. We are working to restore the dollar exchange rate to 1,550 Iraqi dinars or lower. We are increasing shipments of physical US dollars to more than $1 billion per month, raising monthly physical dollar supplies from $140 million to $500 million. We aim to secure tranches of up to $2.5 billion to address the exchange rate gap.”

He pointed out that US concerns about dollars reaching armed militias had affected the volume of cash supplies, noting that the previous devaluation of the dollar exchange rate did not benefit citizens; instead, the differences went to speculators.

Al-Zaidi affirmed that “Iraq’s oil exports are currently fluctuating between suspension and shipment due to regional conditions. We are working to build a pipeline network for crude oil exports so that Iraq is not held hostage by the Strait of Hormuz. We are seeking to reactivate the Ceyhan route and diversify oil export outlets.”

He clarified that the Strait of Hormuz crisis deprived Iraq of benefiting from rising oil prices, revealing a plan to increase Iraqi oil production to 10 million barrels per day by 2032.

He noted that the Iraqi government is working to raise non-oil revenues to 30% during its term, affirming that next year will see economic improvement and that citizens will feel the results of the current Iraqi government’s reforms.