In a comprehensive and wide-ranging interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi laid out a sweeping legislative, military, and economic roadmap intended to fundamentally decouple the country from its post-2003 structural crises.

Al-Zaidi announced an upcoming "National Sovereignty Conference" slated for the end of this year, which will codify the state's exclusive monopoly on violence. Concurrently, he signaled a hard economic break from Iraq's socialist past, declaring an end to International Monetary Fund (IMF) borrowing and a push to revise the country's OPEC oil production quotas.

Dismantling the 'State Within a State'

Addressing the critical security bottleneck that has long plagued Iraqi sovereign independence, Prime Minister Al-Zaidi confirmed that the government has begun actively collecting stockpiles of heavy and medium weaponry from prominent paramilitary factions. Forces including Saraya al-Salam, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, and Kata'ib Imam Ali have already begun surrendering various arms assets to official state mechanisms.

"Resistance is a necessity, not a profession," Al-Zaidi stated, adding that the historical pretext for autonomous paramilitary operations has expired. "The government will no longer tolerate or accept the existence of a state within a state."

The Prime Minister emphasized that the true operational challenge goes beyond physical disarmament; it requires completely severing the command-and-control loops between political factions and individual fighters. To formalize this, the year-end National Sovereignty Conference will establish a strict legal framework banning all weapons outside of official state security apparatuses.

Addressing regional security concerns, Al-Zaidi stated that investigative committees have found no evidence linking recent cross-border attacks on Gulf states to Iraqi territory. He noted that commanders have been given strict directives to preemptively neutralize any unauthorized attempt to launch strikes from within Iraq.

                  [ National Sovereignty Conference ]
                                   │
         ┌─────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┐
         ▼                                                   ▼
[ Paramilitary Disarmament ]                       [ Regional Security ]
• Sever command loops between factions & fighters  • Absolute ban on cross-border strikes
• Surrender of heavy arms to state apparatus       • Guarantee neutrality to Gulf neighbors

Institutional Anti-Corruption and Tech-Driven Clawbacks

Characterizing systemic graft as an existential threat to the Iraqi state rather than a mere administrative hurdle, Al-Zaidi described the emergence of a "deviant ideological system" fueled by competitive public looting.

To counter this, the Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Finance to open dedicated accounts designed strictly for the repatriation of stolen national capital. In an unprecedented move aimed at restoring public trust, Al-Zaidi announced that he will forgo his official state salary, refuse all diplomatic or corporate gifts, and has barred himself and his cabinet from running for a subsequent term or forming a political party.

Economic Shock Therapy: Moving to a Market Economy

On the economic front, Al-Zaidi outlined a profound philosophical transition away from decades of state-dominated, socialist-era economic frameworks, many of which stem from the outdated legal remnants of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council.

Economic Metric / Initiative	Strategic Action / Current Status
IMF Relations	Complete exit; Iraq will no longer enter sovereign borrowing programs.
Liquidity & USD Shipments	Fully resolved; cash liquidity issues have been stabilized via recent capital shipments.
Energy & Development Fund	Newly established; open to public subscription and direct sovereign wealth investment from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.

The Prime Minister also targeted international energy policies, stating that Iraq’s current OPEC crude export quota fails to account for its massive population size, historical conflicts, or the immense financial toll the nation incurred while combating ISIS. Baghdad will seek a revised, equitable distribution mechanism within OPEC that accurately reflects its domestic economic realities.

Strategic Autonomy in Foreign Policy

Following an official state visit to Washington, the Prime Minister confirmed an upcoming diplomatic tour to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, cementing an independent foreign policy that rejects external mandates.

Commenting on relations with the United States, Al-Zaidi noted that while the White House envoy presented no political demands, discussions successfully focused on sweeping away the dense bureaucratic hurdles that had previously frozen the operations of several major American corporations within Iraq. The streamlined regulatory landscape is part of a broader effort to invite Western, European, and Gulf Arab investment funds into the country's newly formed Energy and Development Fund.

"Nothing comes before Iraq for us," Al-Zaidi concluded. "It is in our people's interest to build an outstanding, transparent relationship with the international community based on mutual respect and shared economic development."