Live.. Al-Zaidi in the Bizawi office.. Trump praises him and praises his good looks
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So I will not distinguish one organ from another. 0:15
Nor can I cut off a part of my body with my own hand. Kurdistan is an important part of Iraq. 0:24
It is no different from Basra or the other provinces. 0:38
Of course, because you mentioned all these descriptions of kindness, he loves the other person. Thank you, Mr. President. My question is for you and for the Prime Minister. Mr. Prime Minister, 0:54
Why did you choose the United Nations as the first destination you are visiting, and what are the tangible steps 1:03
you will take when you return to Iraq to implement the agreements that... 1:10
And as a finance expert, I analyzed the economic situation of the country. 1:19
This strategic partner carries the most important strategic partnership in the world. 1:29
It is the United States of America. So my visit was not casual or out of nowhere. 1:37
It was not emotional, but rather rational. 1:53
Yes, inflation is decreasing. I believe inflation will continue to drop. We inherited the worst 2:01
inflation in the history of our country. They say it’s the worst in 47 years, but I think the Biden administration 2:09
Yes, he is sleepy, but he caused inflation. I 2:18
was blamed, but we are doing a fantastic job. Scott, Marco, Pete, and of course he follows the money. All these 2:26
ministers have done an outstanding job. We all did an outstanding job. The previous administration left us with the worst inflation in the history of our country. Inflation reached 2:39
9.1%. A report was published only recently, and I thank you for mentioning this topic. 2:47
So inflation has dropped significantly, which means prices will drop substantially, and we are doing an excellent job. 2:55
You may remember this in the midterm elections because no one was able to tame inflation better 3:03
than us. So prices will fall and fall even more. 3:11
Regarding the announcement and the information you will reveal in your speech to the nation about 3:20
election fraud — I prefer to keep it for now, but it will be 3:25
huge news, very big news. Our country needs to improve its situation and heal its wounds. So what I will talk about 3:35
on Thursday is something tremendous, because without free and fair elections, we will not have democracy. Therefore, it will be 3:44
a massive announcement on Thursday. 3:57
The question is about disarming the factions and the approaching date for the departure of American forces. 4:05
All matters are proceeding according to schedule, and I believe things are going well. That’s why I organized 4:12
a lunch. I had never done that before. Of course, there was no 4:20
lunch on the schedule, so I asked that we sit down for lunch because I like 4:28
the Prime Minister. I think Lindsey wanted that, and he might have added the Iran issue to the bill 4:37
to save America, and even Hezbollah. So we will look into this matter, but I believe 4:46
this will be a tribute to Lindsey’s memory because he wanted this bill to pass, and that’s how he felt. 4:54
Therefore, there is a great opportunity to pass the bill. We want to add the Iran issue and Hezbollah 5:01
to the bill or the draft bill. So this matter will be discussed later. 5:11
My question to the Prime Minister: You ran on the basis of disarming 5:20
the factions. How will you support him to achieve this goal? There is also a question regarding the relationship between 5:28
the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. I believe things will go well. The Middle East — believe it or not — will unite. We have eliminated or 5:37
will eliminate the bully and the dominant power in the Middle East, which is Iran. They were bullying and intimidating Iraq and all the countries 5:46
in the region. There was fear and terror of Iran, and I understand that, but this fear has disappeared because 5:53
their military capabilities have been completely destroyed. I believe the Middle East and the countries of the Middle East will return to their best state. There cannot be 6:02
a dominant actor like Iran, which caused the killing of 52,000 protesting citizens 6:09
and demonstrators. There are those who do not like to talk about this topic. They killed 52,000 of 6:15
their own people. I believe the Middle East and the countries of the Middle East will witness 6:22
a wonderful future. I believe the Prime Minister is a great Prime Minister. His situation has been arranged because Iran is now weakened. 6:32
This role is now over. We cannot allow one power or one country to dominate the entire 6:39
region. People overlook the fact that Iran, the Iranian government, also killed 52,000 6:46
protesters in Iran. Of course, we do not talk about that, and I myself 6:53
as President hate to think about this matter, but they did it too. Now this role is over, and Iran can no longer 7:00
bully any of its neighbors. 7:12
I think we could continue this press conference for a long time, but in short, we have excellent relations with many countries. I just returned 7:20
from the NATO summit, and most of you followed the events. Of course, they love the United States. 7:29
They love the United States. They may love me too, but they love the United States more. We will reduce spending by hundreds of billions of 7:37
dollars. The NATO summit was fantastic, and today’s meeting was also great with 7:43
this great and wonderful country. Many describe it as a great and wonderful country, and we will help them. 7:51
We have good relations with the new Prime Minister. He is a strong, bright, 7:58
and respected person. The election race was extremely fierce, but he won the elections. 8:08
It was important news. I say that the United States is doing fantastically. The number of workers in the United States 8:16
is the highest in the history of the United States. There are so many factories, stations, 8:25
and facilities being built in the United States at record numbers. I believe Republican tariff revenues 8:32
are being used wisely and consciously. Many companies have started 8:39
coming and flocking to the United States to build factories. We were able to bring in $19.2 trillion 8:48
during the Biden administration — less than a trillion dollars in four years. We brought in more than $19 8:56
trillion in one year. Our relationship with Iraq has changed from bad to exceptional and excellent. 9:05
I believe we will have extended and sustainable relations with Iraq and with a person who will become 9:14
a great leader in the Middle East, not just in Iraq. His influence will go beyond the borders of Iraq 9:24
to cover the entire Middle East. Therefore, we are very happy to have you here and to host you. Thank you very much. 9:43
This meeting is a great meeting. As I mentioned, I had never organized a lunch before. 9:50
I had never done this before, so I had no idea what we would eat. 9:57
Of course, the reason for that is my affection for the Iraqi Prime Minister. 10:10
Dear viewers, this was the joint press conference between the Iraqi Prime Minister and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. 10:18
Trump touts ‘tremendous chemistry’ with new Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi during White House visit
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump gave Iraq’s new prime minister an effusive welcome at the White House on Tuesday, promoting the “tremendous chemistry” between him and a fellow wealthy businessman who arrived at the seat of governmental power without any prior political experience.
Ali al-Zaidi emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections. Trump endorsed al-Zaidi for the job after he threatened to cut off U.S. support for Iraq if another candidate became the country’s next prime minister.
“Mark my words, I knew what I was doing,” Trump said in the Oval Office as he sat alongside al-Zaidi for his first visit outside Iraq as prime minister. “This man is going to be a great leader in the Middle East, beyond Iraq. His influence is going to spread all throughout the Middle East.”
Speaking through an interpreter, al-Zaidi said that he was conveying his greetings from the “oldest civilization in the world” and that the focus of his U.S. visit would be to announce an “economic partnership” between the two countries.
The issue of Iran loomed large in the discussions Tuesday. Iraq has been under pressure to disarm a network of Iran-backed militias operating in the country, some of which launched attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in February. Officially, the Iraqi government has given non-state armed groups until the end of September to disarm, but some of the most powerful militias have said they have no intention of doing so.
Al-Zaidi stressed on Tuesday that there will be no justification for their existence after Sept. 30. A Trump administration official said ahead of the Oval Office meeting that the U.S. will make “informed” decisions based on Iraq’s efforts to disarm Iranian-backed militias inside its borders. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the administration’s strategy ahead of al-Zaidi’s visit.
Al-Zaidi has been called ‘Trump of the Middle East’
Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc called the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran, initially said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the Trump administration viewed as too close to Tehran. Trump, a Republican, got personally involved, threatening to block support if al-Maliki returned to power.
Since al-Zaidi’s formal installation as prime minister-designate in April, the Trump administration has kept up its outreach to ensure the U.S. can wield significant sway in Iraq, particularly in extricating the Iranian influence that is deeply entrenched inside the country.
The parallel backgrounds of Trump and al-Zaidi have also bolstered their rapport. Victoria Taylor, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council, noted that al-Zaidi has been likened to “Trump of the Middle East” considering his business background and lack of political experience.
“When you value business success, I think then it’s very appealing to look at an Iraqi prime minister who is likely a billionaire and can be really pointed to as a political outsider,” she said.
But Taylor added that “the reality is much more complicated,” noting that al-Zaidi was chosen by the current political infrastructure in Iraq and will be “beholden in some way to that system.”
“I’m not always sure that there’s a full appreciation of the challenge that this prime minister will face in actually trying to really dismantle core parts of the political system,” she said, noting the obstacles that al-Zaidi will face as he tries to disarm the Iran-backed militias or challenge political corruption.
Underscoring the complicated competing interests that al-Zaidi is confronting in Iraq, the new prime minister sidestepped a question about Trump’s remarks on the 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“At that time, I wasn’t involved in politics,” al-Zaidi said. “Let’s talk about the future.”
Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Chatham House think tank, said he expects that “the U.S. will put significant pressure on al-Zaidi” to move ahead with disarmament during his Washington visit “and Zaidi will respond by saying, ‘But I need support — intelligence support, technical support, armed support.’”
“There is a scenario in which, if the Iraqi government starts going after these groups, they will also go after the government,” Mansour said. “And this is a scenario that I think that the Iraqi government is apprehensive about.”
Oil pipeline deal is set to be signed, Iraqi officials say
The two governments are also poised to finalize a significant energy deal.
Two Iraqi officials said an agreement is slated to be signed Friday between Iraq, U.S. companies Chevron and TI Capital, and Qatar’s UCC for construction of an oil pipeline that will connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Iraq’s Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast. The pipeline is projected to carry about 2 million barrels of oil per day. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Neither Trump nor al-Zaidi elaborated on the pending deal publicly during their Oval Office meeting, but the U.S. president said Iraq has “tremendous potential” because of its oil.
Al-Zaidi cracks down on corruption
Al-Zaidi received Trump’s blessing, despite the fact that he was chairman of a bank, Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, that was among the financial institutions banned by Iraq’s central bank in 2024 from dealing in dollars amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on money laundering and funneling of funds to Iran.
Since taking office, al-Zaidi has made a public show of cracking down on corruption. His government has conducted raids and arrested dozens of current and former lawmakers and government officials accused of corruption, including some affiliated with former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
The Iraqi premier’s delegation to Washington includes a number of Iraqi businessmen and government officials, and al-Zaidi’s office said in a statement that the aim of the visit is to “strengthen economic and development partnerships, attract investment, and expand the role of U.S. companies in implementing infrastructure projects” and to further develop the oil-rich country’s energy sector.
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Al-Rabiaa correspondent from Washington: Al-Sudani to visit several factories and meet with Ameri...
Yes, the political and security aspects dominate the first and second days of the Prime Minister’s visit. While in the remaining days, which may extend to four more days, the Iraqi Prime Minister will visit a number of factories and companies. He will also meet with a number of financial officials, economists, and businessmen.
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