Iraq and US commit to disarmament, energy after Barrack-Al-Zaidi talks
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and US Special Presidential Envoy Tom Barrack concluded talks in Baghdad on Tuesday, affirming a broad bilateral agenda covering security, energy, and trade.
In a joint statement, both sides identified completing Iraq's disarmament process as a shared priority, underscoring the urgency of fully disbanding all armed groups operating outside state authority and confining their weapons within official Iraqi military structures.
Baghdad has set an end-of-September deadline for that process. Some factions —including Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali— have expressed commitment to disarmament, while others, such as Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, the largest Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, have rejected the timeline, conditioning any disarmament on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country, also scheduled for September under an agreement between the US-led Coalition and the Iraqi government.
Read more: How the US pushed Iraq's armed factions toward disarmament
Energy And Commercial Deals
Four specific energy agreements were also endorsed in the joint statement. Iraq finalized Starlink's operating license to provide internet services to Iraqi consumers, extending Elon Musk's satellite network into a major Arab market.
Negotiations with Chevron to develop the West Qurna-2 and Nasiriyah oil fields were also launched; Chevron had entered exclusive talks with Baghdad earlier this year after Iraq nationalized West Qurna-2 following US sanctions on Russia's Lukoil.
US companies HKN, Western Zagros, and Hunt were cleared to resume operations under full security guarantees, and Baghdad and TI Capital advanced a memorandum of understanding to rehabilitate the Kirkuk-Baniyas Pipeline as a northern oil export route.
The Kirkuk-Baniyas corridor would carry Iraqi crude from northern oilfields to Syria's Mediterranean terminal at Baniyas, a route Baghdad views as a means of diversifying exports and reducing dependence on southern Gulf ports.
On gas, the joint statement reaffirmed Excelerate Energy's project to develop an integrated LNG import terminal at Khor Zubair as the framework for expanding US-Iraq energy cooperation on electricity.
Barrack In Baghdad, Al-Zaidi in Washington
Last May, Barrack described US readiness to work with Al-Zaidi on a "bold new agenda" centered on stability, prosperity, and economic cooperation, remarks made immediately after Iraq's parliament granted the new government its confidence. His June 15 visit to Baghdad was framed publicly as an opportunity to convey President Trump's direct support for the Al-Zaidi government and explore new directions for the relationship.
Al-Zaidi is scheduled to visit Washington in mid-July upon an invitation from President Donald Trump, with a focus on strategic ties and economic cooperation. The trip will mark his first foreign visit since taking office.
Read more: Trump's new Iraq-Syria envoy faces an Iran test Syria never posed
