Al-Zaydi: Iraq was threatened with a blockade, and closing the borders with Iran is not in our interest.
Al-Zaydi: Iraq was threatened with a blockade, and closing the borders with Iran is not in our interest.
2026-10-24
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Friday evening that the country was threatened with a blockade, noting that closing the Iraqi-Iranian border was not in Iraq’s interest.
In an interview with Al-Iraqiya TV, which was monitored by Shafaq News Agency, Al-Zaydi indicated that “Iraq was threatened with a blockade and the departure of embassies, and we succeeded in overcoming the danger, and we succeeded in sparing Iraq from falling into international isolation, which was only days away from it.”
He explained that “Western society was convinced that the state was being held hostage by certain groups, and we have completed the weapons file with three factions and are negotiating to complete it with four others, and by June 30, 2027 there will be no weapons outside the framework of the state.”
He stressed that “the decision to restrict weapons to the state is final and irreversible. Iraq is a state with factions, not factions that own a state. Soon Iraq will be free of factions and weapons will be in the hands of the security forces.”
He said, “The absence of foreign forces means the absence of the justification that was put forward for taking up arms, and there are no American soldiers in Iraq, not even as advisors.”
He confirmed that there are “understandings for the Turkish forces to leave and hand over the Bashiqa base to the Iraqi army, and our understanding with the Peshmerga forces to hand over Mount Sinjar and for its elements to join the Popular Mobilization Forces, and Iraq will not participate in any war and will remain a meeting point between the parties.”
He pointed out that “closing the Iraqi-Iranian border is not in the interest of Iraq or Iran, and closing the border with Iran means that we are economically besieging ourselves.”
He added that “the regional crisis must end with an agreement, no matter how many possibilities there are.”
He pointed out that “corruption has become a system and a culture for some, and confronting it is the basis for building the state. Fighting corruption may cost me the loss of my closest friends. If we do not end corruption, we have succeeded in weakening it within five months. I have been subjected to pressure, and our battle against corruption is ongoing, and we have other battles ahead.”
The Prime Minister stressed: “There is no favoritism in corruption cases, and the recovered funds were found in multiple places. We subjected contracts to auditing before they were signed to prevent corruption instead of pursuing it later.” He pointed out that “corruption is not linked to a sect or nationality, and it should not be dealt with according to political or social affiliations.”
On the other hand, Al-Zaydi announced that “the distribution of one million free serviced plots of land will begin at the end of 2027, and there are one million plots of land with title deeds for families who do not own real estate.”
He added that “the million-plot land project will provide housing for about six million citizens, and there will be an electronic platform to ensure that applicants for the plots do not own real estate.”
He revealed the intention to “create modern cities that include lakes, golf courses and advanced facilities,” explaining that “the Generations Fund will undertake the development of the new cities’ lands and invest the proceeds from their sale.”
The Prime Minister also announced the distribution of agricultural land with areas ranging between 20 and 30 dunams for each family, stressing the need to work on establishing a capitalist identity for the Iraqi economy while maintaining social protection.
shafaq.com
