During the Iraqi Prime Minister's visit to Washington, the US Secretary of War considered the expansion of trade and defense cooperation with Baghdad conditional on the consolidation of Iraqi sovereignty and the disarmament of resistance groups supported by Iran, and made claims, asking the Iraqi government to choose between relations with resistance groups and expanding cooperation with Washington.
Publish dateWednesday 15 July 2026 - 10:22
Story Code : 360642
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: This morning (Wednesday), during the Iraqi Prime Minister's official visit to Washington, Pentagon Chief Pete Hexath set conditions in a statement aimed at connecting Iraqi resistance groups with Iran for continued cooperation between Washington and Baghdad.
He made claims, saying, "To deepen our partnership, Iraq must consolidate its sovereignty and disarm the Iranian-affiliated militias that are responsible for more than 600 attacks on American forces this spring."
According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the US Secretary of War also emphasized that Washington expects Iraq to take the lead in the fight against the ISIS terrorist group as the end of the US-led international operation "Resolute Resolve" against ISIS approaches, the West Asian country.
Referring to the prospects for future cooperation, Hexath stated: "A secure Iraq paves the way for active trade and defense cooperation."
According to the report, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, as part of his official visit to Washington, also met with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and discussed security and economic cooperation.
In his meeting with Al-Zaidi, Hexath also said that by the end of September this year, American troops will withdraw from Iraq.
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