Shafaq News..Al-Zaidi at 100 days: Iraq’s toughest tests still ahead

On Aug 23, 2026

Shafaq News

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi reached the 100-day mark
on Friday, August 21, facing a series of longstanding crises that successive
governments have struggled to resolve, from weapons control and corruption to
oil exports, water shortages and public finances.

The milestone offers an early test of whether the
government’s stated priorities can translate into measurable results. His
cabinet also remains incomplete. Nine of its 23 ministries, including defense,
interior and planning, are still without permanent ministers and remain under
acting ministers amid political disputes over candidates and power-sharing
arrangements.

Despite the incomplete cabinet, the Council of Ministers
approved a 2026-2029 government program containing 139 priorities across 14
sectors and 13 major legislative measures. The program is built around the
stated goal of establishing a “stable state, productive economy and
balanced partnerships.”

The scale of the agenda highlights the government’s
ambition, but it also underscores its central challenge: Iraq’s most difficult
problems require decisions that carry high political, economic, and security
costs.

Weapons and Sovereignty

The government’s most politically sensitive challenge is its
effort to place all weapons under state authority. Al-Zaidi has set September
30 as the deadline for completing the process of bringing all weapons under
state control, coinciding with arrangements for the end of the Global
Coalition’s military mission. The Coordination Framework, which brings together
Iraq’s main Shiite political forces, agreed in principle to place weapons under
state control. The dispute centers on implementation, guarantees and timing.
Proposals have included negotiations with Iran-aligned armed factions over
arrangements for withdrawing heavy weapons and placing them in state-controlled
storage, in an effort to avoid an internal confrontation.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Khaled Walid, a member of the
Reconstruction and Development Coalition led by former Prime Minister Mohammed
Shia Al-Sudani, said that weapons control, the withdrawal of foreign forces and
protection of Iraq’s territorial integrity will be the “key measures by which
the government is judged in the months ahead.”

Washington-based political analyst Ramadan Al-Badran said
Al-Zaidi inherited challenges accumulated over years while also confronting new
pressures created by regional developments.

Al-Badran told Shafaq News that the prime minister is
“trying to lay the right foundations” based on national, regional and
international consensus. He also credited the government with tackling issues
that previous administrations had not addressed with the same level of
seriousness, particularly corruption and weapons control.

But progress on these fronts remains difficult to measure.
The government has established a policy direction, yet implementation will
depend on political consensus, institutional capacity and the willingness of
powerful actors to accept greater state control.

Diplomacy as Crisis Management

Al-Zaidi has also intensified Iraq’s regional and
international diplomacy, travelling to the United States, Iran, and Turkiye,
while pursuing broader outreach to Arab states to strengthen Baghdad’s ties and
shield Iraq from wider confrontation.

The Washington visit resulted in 48 agreements and memoranda
of understanding with US and international companies and institutions, covering
energy, investment, infrastructure, technology, healthcare and other sectors.

In Tehran, discussions focused on regional de-escalation and
Baghdad’s potential role as a channel for dialogue, alongside energy,
agriculture and bilateral cooperation.

Oil: The Immediate Economic Test

Oil exports remain the government’s most pressing economic
vulnerability. Disruptions to Iraq’s traditional export routes, combined with
tensions between Iran and the United States and instability around the Strait
of Hormuz, have added pressure to public finances that remain heavily dependent
on oil revenues.

Lawmaker Uday Al-Zamili told Shafaq News that the oil export
crisis still lacks “effective solutions,” arguing that the government
has so far relied largely on proposals and arrangements whose details have not
been fully presented to parliament.

Al-Zamili also sought details on how the Iraqi-Turkish
arrangement would work to export around one million barrels per day through
Turkish ports, saying parliament needed greater clarity over Iraq’s financial returns
and whether the arrangement could also advance other bilateral issues,
including water and trade.

The issue is particularly sensitive because oil revenues
directly underpin salaries and public spending. On August 17, Al-Zaidi held an
expanded meeting with oil-sector officials and the oil and finance ministers,
calling for urgent measures to address export routes and the crisis’s effects.

The challenge goes beyond maintaining production. Iraq must
also ensure that it has reliable routes to international markets and sufficient
financial flexibility to withstand disruptions.

Iraqi oil shipments are already moving through the
Iraq-Syria border crossings, providing Baghdad with an overland alternative to
its traditional export routes. In early May, Iraq launched its first crude oil
shipment through the Rabia–Al-Yarubiyah crossing, sending an initial 70 tanker
trucks toward regional markets. Subsequent shipments ranged from 15 to 40
tankers a day.

Reform Beyond Oil

At the same time, the government is seeking to reduce the
state’s dependence on oil by increasing non-oil revenues, reforming the
banking, tax and customs systems, and encouraging investment and private-sector
activity.

Walid described Al-Zaidi’s administration primarily as a
“government managing a political, economic and security crisis,”
pointing to the wider consequences of regional conflict and instability.

He said the government was looking for new ways to increase
non-oil revenues, diversify oil export routes, limit operating expenditure and
reform state institutions while strengthening anti-corruption measures.

Al-Zaidi also sought during his July visits to Washington,
Tehran and Ankara to keep diplomatic channels open and contain the impact of
regional tensions on Iraq. But Walid noted that the ultimate measure of the
government’s performance will be its ability to turn plans and promises into
tangible results. He identified corruption and weapons control as the two
issues likely to weigh most heavily on the government’s performance through the
end of the year.

Water Adds Another Pressure Point

Drought and declining water inflows have placed additional
pressure on Iraq’s already vulnerable water resources. Yet Turhan Al-Mufti, the
prime minister’s adviser on water affairs, offers a more positive assessment,
saying water conditions during the summer of 2026 are three to four times
better than those recorded the previous year.

Al-Mufti told Shafaq News that the government is relying on
agreements with Turkiye, including a framework agreement on water and a
memorandum on financing water-related projects. He explained that the two
arrangements are expected to enter into force in September and provide a basis
for more sustainable water supplies.

Corruption as an Early Test

The government placed corruption near the top of its agenda
from the outset. On June 28, it launched an anti-corruption campaign dubbed the
“Dawn Crackdown”, and took legal and oversight measures against prominent
political and administrative figures, in a move supporters described as
different from the approach of previous governments.

The prime minister’s financial adviser, Mudher Mohammed
Saleh, has argued that the government should not be judged simply by the number
of days it has been in office, but by the course it set from the beginning.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Saleh said the government had
placed anti-corruption efforts among its leading priorities and sought to move
the issue beyond political rhetoric toward institutional oversight,
accountability and the recovery of public funds.

At 100 days, Al-Zaidi’s government has set out an ambitious
agenda and taken on several politically sensitive issues, but its most
consequential tests lie ahead. Completing the cabinet, bringing all weapons
under state control, securing reliable oil-export routes, protecting public
finances and turning anti-corruption measures into sustained institutional
action will determine whether the government’s first year delivers lasting
change.

The central question is: can Al-Zaidi build the political
consensus and institutional capacity needed to address them?

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.

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