Al-Zaidi receives US envoy Tom Barrack to discuss security and cooperation after coalition withdrawal

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi received in Baghdad the US special envoy to Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack. The meeting focused on ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries across various fields and on regional developments, with both sides emphasizing the need to reduce tensions and consolidate security and stability.

The prime minister’s media office said the talks addressed bilateral relations in light of the new phase Iraq entered after the completion of the withdrawal of international coalition forces at the end of last September, pursuant to the agreement concluded between Baghdad and Washington in 2024.

Barrack described the meeting as "productive," and wrote in a post that "stability is not inherited; it is built by leaders who choose the hard path," expressing his appreciation for al-Zaidi’s partnership and leadership.

The meeting comes after al-Zaidi announced earlier this month the start of a "new era" of Iraqi sovereignty following the departure of the coalition forces. He stressed then the need to ensure that weapons are held only by the state, while the coalition’s mission to combat ISIS continues from outside Iraq in an advisory capacity.

The post-withdrawal phase is prompting political debate about national defence capabilities, particularly air defence systems, amid repeated drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region, placing security cooperation and armament high on the agenda of Baghdad–Washington talks.