Al-Zaidi hails Washington visit as Iran distances itself from criticism

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has lauded his recent five-day visit to Washington, describing it as a success that will translate a strategic economic partnership into reality. He thanked the U.S. administration and people for a warm reception, noting that signed agreements and memorandums of understanding could usher in a new phase of bilateral relations based on shared interests.

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Our government remains determined to translate the strategic economic partnership between the two friendly countries into reality.

During the visit, Iraq and the United States signed 48 agreements requiring parliamentary approval, alongside other memorandums of understanding. Al-Zaidi highlighted a banking agreement between Iraq's central bank and the U.S. Treasury, aimed at curbing fund smuggling to Iran, as a crucial step in reforming the financial sector and integrating it globally. Seven Iraqi banks have been cleared to resume foreign correspondent banking in non-dollar currencies, paving the way for dollar transactions upon meeting compliance requirements.

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Our government remains determined to translate the strategic economic partnership between the two friendly countries into reality.

Meanwhile, Iran has officially distanced itself from critical remarks made by Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to its supreme leader. Velayati had called al-Zaidi "inexperienced" and criticized the visit's timing, which followed the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi assured his Iraqi counterpart that bilateral ties should not be affected by "personal and unofficial" comments, emphasizing the deep-rooted and strategic nature of Iranian-Iraqi relations.

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bilateral ties should not be affected by “personal and unofficial” remarks.

Despite al-Zaidi's positive assessment, opponents of the visit, particularly Iran-aligned armed factions, view the outcome with suspicion. They fear that implementing the deals could strengthen Baghdad's relationship with Washington at the expense of cooperation with Tehran. Analysts like Abdulrahman al-Jubouri suggest that implementing the visit's agenda might signal Iraq's shift away from its traditional balanced policy towards closer alignment with the West. However, Professor Talib Mohammed Karim remains cautious, seeing the visit as an attempt to "redefine" Iraqi-US relations beyond security and military issues.

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implementing the visit’s agenda would signal that Iraq had abandoned its traditional balanced policy in favor of closer alignment with the West.