Iraq is about to make its biggest bet on Washington since the war ended.
On Monday, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi lands in the U.S. capital.
Not for photos.
For pipelines.
His government is set to sign a stack of oil and gas MOUs — the kind that could reshape where Iraqi crude flows for decades.
Because Iraq just got a brutal lesson in geography.
When the U.S.-Iran war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq's oil revenue took a hit — like every other Gulf producer squeezed through that one narrow chokepoint.
One war. One strait. Billions at risk.
Baghdad doesn't want a repeat.
Here's the part that makes this visit fascinating.
Iraq has spent two decades balancing Washington on one side, Tehran on the other.
U.S. troops on Iraqi soil. Iran-backed militias next door. Constant pressure from both capitals.
And yet — this is al-Zaidi's first major U.S. trip since taking office in April.
Trump congratulated him the day he was nominated.
Now comes the follow-through.
This isn't just an energy story.
It's a signal.
A Gulf nation, historically caught between two rivals, choosing to lean harder into American capital and infrastructure — right when the region's oil chokepoints have never felt shakier.
Watch what gets signed Monday.
It tells you where Iraq thinks the next 30 years of power actually flows.
That's all for now!
