US exerts influence on Iraq's energy and foreign relations

After Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi initially failed to secure an extension to the expired 1973 Iraq-Turkey pipeline transit agreement during his trip to Ankara last week, a deal between the Iraqi and Turkish governments was reached over the weekend to extend the agreement for one year.

Influence and pressure from the United States is shaping Iraq’s relations with Turkey and Syria, particularly in the energy sector. American influence in the energy sector is growing even as US troop presence is coming to an end in Iraq. During Zaidi’s visit to Washington, he heralded this substitution of American troops for American companies, a sellable slogan to both the American and Iraqi publics. At the same time, Zaidi is not the architect of this idea, but it is central to an American vision of a new regional order.