US President Donald Trump has backed Iraqi tycoon Ali Al Zaidi as a likely contender for Iraq's next prime minister, but this endorsement comes with a condition – excluding Iranian-backed militias from the government.
Trump recently invited Zaidi to Washington and expressed his support, saying the US is 'with him all the way.' However, this backing is not without controversy, as Zaidi has faced pressure from Washington in the past.
In 2024, the Treasury Department banned dollar transactions with a bank Zaidi owns, Al Janoob Islamic Bank, over suspicions that it was doing business with a militia leader linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Zaidi's emergence as a prime minister candidate was reportedly vetted by both the US and Iran before being made public, an Iraqi official told the Wall Street Journal.
Iran has pushed back against Trump's demand that Zaidi exclude militia leaders from the government, with a senior official saying that Iraq should not rule out militia leaders or seek to disarm them.
The US has taken a hardline stance against the militias, which it says have carried out 600 attacks on US diplomatic and military facilities in Iraq since the US-Israeli war with Iran began.
Analysts say that any attempt to disarm the militias or reduce their power and influence could prompt a violent response, given their deep entrenchment in the Iraqi state and economy.
