&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump, Iraq PM Ali al-Zaidi discuss oil, US troop withdrawal and Strait of Hormuz")
US President Donald Trump met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the White House on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Trump called him a “fantastic champion, a new champion." Ali al Zaidi called the visit a " no other visit and called it the beginning of an “economic partnership”. Ali al-Zaidi, often dubbed as the Donald Trump of Iraq, due to his background as a wealthy businessman and political outsider who vaulted straight into his country's highest office, pledged to boost the economic ties between the two nations and Iraq's oil output.
“Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals,” said Donald Trump. Donald Trump heavily backed Ali al-Zaidi's bid to become Prime Minister of Iraq by blocking the pro-Iranian former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's candidacy in January 2026.
“Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals,” Trump said. “We’re going to create a lot of jobs for both countries, and we’re going to be taking out a lot of oil. A lot of oil is coming out.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reiterated the importance of Kurdistan to Iraq, likening it to a limb of a body. He told reporters that the “US forces will be out of Iraq” by September 30 of this year. US forces are largely stationed at the Iraqi Kurdistan region. US President Trump again made his earlier claim before his time in office that attacking Iraq was a mistake. Iraq has long been the battleground of Tehran and Washington, and ISIL (ISIS), which many claimed was a result of the US invasion.
"If you remember, even though I was a civilian... I used to say, 'Don't go into Iraq. Don't attack Iraq.' Frankly, they attacked the wrong country, and they did a lot of damage," said Trump.
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“The damage suffered by Iraq exceeds $400 billion, and to this day, some Iraqis still have destroyed homes and are living in camps. I have a plan to return them to their homes, and that is why I want a fair share for Iraq in OPEC,” said al-Zaidi
Trump also discussed the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that no one should be allowed to charge fees in the strategic waterway. This comes as Trump backed off on his claim of charging 20 per cent fees on vessels crossing Hormuz. But he said that he welcomed investment "in the US in exchange for providing protection for the Strait of Hormuz.”
