US President Joe Biden to host Iraqi leader as Middle East tensions soar

President Joe Biden is set to host Iraqs leader this week for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Irans unprecedented weekend attack on Israel in retaliation for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in SyriaThe sharp rise in security fears has raised further questions about the viability of the twodecade American military presence in Iraq through which portions of Irans Saturday drone and missile attack on Israel flew or were launched from A US Patriot battery in Irbil Iraq knocked down at least one Iranian ballistic missile according to American officialsIn addition Iranian proxies have initiated attacks against US interests throughout the region from inside Iraq making Mondays meeting between Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Shia alSudani all the more critical The talks will include a discussion of regional stability and future US troop deployments but will also focus on economic trade and energy issues that have become a major priority for Iraqs government according to US officialsBiden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are both expected to address the US troop presence in meetings with alSudani It is not the primary focus of the visit but it is almost certainly going to come up one senior US official said last weekThe US and Iraq began formal talks in January about ending the coalition created to help the Iraqi government fight the Islamic State with some 2000 US troops remaining in the country under an agreement with Baghdad Iraqi officials have periodically called for a withdrawal of those forcesThe two countries have a delicate relationship due in part to Irans considerable sway in Iraq where a coalition of Iranbacked groups brought alSudani to power in October 2022The US in recent months has urged Iraq to do more to prevent attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria that have further roiled the Middle East in the aftermath of Hamas Oct 7 attack on Israel Irans weekend attacks on Israel through Iraqi airspace have further underscored US concerns although alSudani had already left Baghdad and was en route to Washington when the drones and missiles were launchedThe US has also sought to apply financial pressure over Baghdads relationship with Tehran restricting Iraqs access to its own dollars in an effort to stamp out money laundering said to benefit Iran and SyriaMost previous Iraqi prime ministers have visited Washington earlier in their tenure AlSudanis visit was delayed because of tensions between the US and Iran and regional escalation including the Gaza war and the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan in a drone attack in late January That was followed by a US strike that killed a leader in the Kataib Hezbollah militia whom Washington accused of planning and participating in attacks on US troopsAlSudani came to power in late 2022 after a power struggle between prominent Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada Sadr and opposing Shiite factions that are close to Iran after the 2021 elections Sadr ultimately withdrew from the political process giving the opportunity to the remaining Shia politicians to form a government headed by alSudaniSince then alSudani has attempted to maintain a balancing act between Iran and America despite being seen as being close to Tehran and despite several incidents that have put his government in an embarrassing position in relation to WashingtonEarly in alSudanis term a US citizen Stephen Edward Troell was shot and killed by armed men who accosted him as he pulled up to the street where he lived in Baghdads central Karrada district with his family An Iraqi criminal court convicted five men last August and sentenced them to life in prison in the case which officials described as a kidnapping gone wrongA few months later Elizabeth Tsurkov an IsraeliRussian doctoral student at Princeton was kidnapped while doing research in Iraq AlSudanis visit will come about a year after Tsurkovs abduction She is believed to be held by Kataib HezbollahThe senior US official said Tsurkovs case would also be raisedWe are concerned by and closely tracking this case the official said We have strongly condemned her abduction Weve urged and continue to urge senior Iraqi officials to find Elizabeth and to secure her release as soon as possibleAlSudani started his term with promises to focus on economic development and fight corruption but his government has faced economic difficulties including a discrepancy in the official and market exchange rates between the Iraqi dinar and the US dollarThe currency issues came in part as a result of a US tightening of the dollar supply to Iraq as part of a crackdown on money laundering and smuggling of funds to Iran The US has disallowed more than 20 Iraqi banks from dealing in dollars as part of the campaignThe alSudani government recently renewed Iraqs contract to purchase natural gas from Iran for another five years which could lead to American displeasureThe Iraqi prime minister will return to Iraq and meet with the Turkish president following his trip to Washington which could finally lead to a solution to a longrunning dispute over exports of oil from Kurdish areas of Iraq to Turkey Washington has sought to get the flow of oil to resumeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever