US envoy: Washington proud to stand with Iraq
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Washington is committed to expanding economic and commercial ties with Baghdad, US Special Envoy Tom Barrack affirmed on Friday, saying the United States is “proud to stand with Iraq,” a day after meeting Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.
Barrack praised Iraq’s efforts to strengthen its sovereignty and attract investment under Al-Zaidi. “It is choosing sovereignty over dependency, investment over stagnation, and partnership over proxy,” he wrote.
Honored to meet with Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi in Baghdad. The Middle East is a Rubik’s Cube. Every side touches every other, turn one face and you move the rest. No single country, and no outside power, solves it alone. It comes together only when the nations of the region decide to turn the pieces themselves, patiently and together. Iraq is doing exactly that. Under Prime Minister Al-Zaidi, it is choosing sovereignty over dependency, investment over stagnation, and partnership over proxy. The United States is proud to stand with Iraq: deepening our economic and commercial ties, opening the door to American companies and Iraqi talent alike, and building prosperity for the benefit of all. We also discussed the harder work of lowering the temperature across the region, containing crises before they spread, and choosing diplomacy over escalation. That responsibility belongs first to the region, to neighbors willing to own their security and their future. That is the shift underway. America is a partner in it, not a substitute for it. A sovereign, prosperous Iraq, anchored in a region that takes responsibility for its own stability, is good for Iraqis, good for their neighbors, and good for the United States.
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) November 6, 2026
Comparing the Middle East to a Rubik’s Cube, Barrack stressed the need for regional governments to take responsibility for their own security, reduce tensions, and resolve crises through diplomacy, noting, “America is a partner in it, not a substitute for it.”
During Thursday’s meeting, Al-Zaidi and Barrack discussed expanding economic and investment cooperation and preventing further regional escalation, according to the prime minister’s media office. In a separate conversation with US President Donald Trump, Al-Zaidi reaffirmed that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against neighboring countries.
Barrack’s remarks come amid mounting US pressure on Baghdad to bring armed factions’ weapons under state control. Informed political sources told Shafaq News this week that Washington had warned of possible sanctions and designation as a state sponsor of terrorism unless Iraq takes concrete steps toward disarmament by June 30, 2027, the deadline set by Al-Zaidi. Talks with several factions have reportedly reached a near-deadlock.
Read more: Asaib Ahl Al-Haq joins Iraq's cabinet as hardliners reject disarmament deadline
