Report urges Trump to draw “red lines” ahead of al-Zaidi’s rule over Iraq
A US report urged President Donald Trump’s administration to maintain what it called “red lines” during the process of forming the new Iraqi government, three days after Ali al-Zaidi was tasked with becoming prime minister.
American conditions
The report issued by the US-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies , and translated by Shafaq News Agency, warned against including figures linked to armed factions or close to Iran in ministerial or senior positions.
The US report warned that forming a government that includes figures close to Tehran could harm the future of Iraqi-American relations, calling on Washington to continue to exert pressure to ensure the formation of a government that is “not subject to the influence of militias” and maintains a balanced relationship between Baghdad and its international partners.
The report stressed that Iraq represents a crucial arena for confronting Iranian influence and illicit financial activities, as well as combating terrorism, emphasizing that achieving this requires an effective partnership with Baghdad without pushing the country towards an economic or military crisis.
He pointed out that assigning businessman Ali al-Zaidi to the premiership does not guarantee that he will actually assume the position, as he still has 30 days to form a government that enjoys the confidence of Parliament, in light of previous experiences in which candidates failed to secure sufficient support, as happened in 2020.
Al-Zaydi was chosen after disagreements within the coordinating framework, as the American report saw that his “limited political experience” contributed to achieving consensus on him, as he was a figure who might be more susceptible to influence by the framework’s leaders.
Financial concerns
The report expressed concern about al-Zaidi’s past affiliations, noting that he served as chairman of the board of directors of the “South Islamic Bank,” which was barred by the Central Bank of Iraq in 2024 from participating in the dollar auction in response to American pressure.
According to the US-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iraq is an important center for financing illicit Iranian activities, through oil smuggling networks that generate – according to estimates – about $1 billion annually for Tehran and its allies, in addition to exploiting the Iraqi financial system to access dollars in various ways.
According to the report, these activities, along with factional attacks during the recent war, prompted Washington to take pressure measures, including reducing dollar shipments to Iraq and imposing sanctions on faction leaders, as well as offering financial rewards for information about some of them.
Factional challenge
The report stressed that any new prime minister, especially if he came to power with the support of forces close to Iran, would not be able to confront the armed factions on his own, without direct American pressure.
He noted that these factions emerged from the last war – the February 28 war between the United States and Israel against Iran – “more daring,” citing the participation of their leaders in high-level political meetings despite some of them being on US terrorism lists.
The report concluded that the (current) Iraqi government has not taken any decisive steps to deter attacks targeting American diplomatic and military facilities, but has allowed factions to respond to American strikes, thus giving them “implicit legitimacy” to operate outside the framework of the state.
Shafaq.com