Kadhimi woos Washington

The new Iraqi premier is leveraging the US administration’s loathing for Iran to secure energy investments

Iraqi prime minister Mustafa Kadhimi's first official trip to the US in late August, just months into the job, was followed by the announcement of a slew of gas and power-focussed deals with American energy companies. The White House described them as being designed to enable "rapid progress towards energy independence from Iran". Yet the details of the deals—or lack thereof—suggest Iran has little immediate cause to fear losing either the cash or political influence it gains from its arrangement. The five US agreements’ stated value of “up to $8bn” covers a broad range—and only one had a specific value attached. The key accord, in terms of the core US aim of increasing Iraqi gas production,