US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters that the United States would be doing a lot of deals with Iraq and taking a lot of oil out of the country.
The president added that Washington would be there for Iraq if it needed protection, but added that he did not think that would be necessary.
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The comments came during a bilateral meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
The US president welcomed Iraq's new PM to the White House on Tuesday after strongly backing the political image in his bid for office. When al-Zaidi was formally installed as PM-designate in April, Trump said in a Truth Social post that it was the “beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”
A Trump administration official, as quoted by AP, said ahead of the Oval Office meeting that Washington will make “informed” decisions based on Iraq’s efforts to disarm Iranian-backed militias inside its borders.
"We have a tremendous chemistry together... he won an election that a lot of people didn't anticipate... it was very important to me to have somebody get in there that can do the job and do it well," Trump told reporters.
"The oil companies are all going in now and they're doing partnerships with Iraq, and they're getting along very well. The relationship is a whole big relationship where we don't need the military there..." he added.
He further stated that Iran was a big burden on Iraq, but they are not going to have that problem anymore.
"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," Trump said.
'Iran and Hezbollah will be added to Russia sanctions bill'
Trump also told reporters that he thought Iran and Hezbollah will be added to the Russia sanctions bill currently under consideration by Congress.
He further noted that adding secondary sanctions to China and India had not been discussed.
