United States President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi have met at the White House in Washington, DC, with both leaders pledging to deepen economic ties and boost Iraq’s oil output.

The meeting on Tuesday came after Trump threw his support behind al-Zaidi, a businessman with no history in politics, and publicly opposed Iraq’s former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the prime ministerial role earlier this year.

Al-Maliki, a divisive figure seen as having close ties to Iran, subsequently dropped out of contention in April.

The Iraqi government had previously said it expected several oil and gas agreements to be signed during al-Zaidi’s visit to the US, with Trump also vowing a raft of deals during the Oval Office meeting.

He called al-Zaidi “a fantastic champion, a new champion”.

“Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things, but because of their oil, and we’re going to be doing a lot of deals,” Trump said.

“We’re going to create a lot of jobs for both countries, and we’re going to be taking out a lot of oil. A lot of oil is coming out,” he said.

Al-Zaidi, meanwhile, said the “visit was not like any other visit”, calling it the beginning of an “economic partnership”.

He said US-Iraqi relations were shifting from militaristic to economic.

Both he and Trump said the remaining US forces in Iraq, believed to number fewer than 2,000, would completely withdraw from Iraq by September 30. That is the same date al-Zaidi pledged that armed factions active across Iraq would disarm.

Iraq has long contended with the competing influences of Tehran and Washington in its domestic politics, with tensions over the continued US troop presence, deployed amid the conflict with ISIL (ISIS), and the pull of Iran-aligned armed groups.

In his first speech in parliament as prime minister, al-Zaidi vowed to disarm the country’s varied paramilitary groups, which have wielded power since the 2003 US-led war on Iraq.

He has not said how he will achieve the ambitious goal. Shortly before his departure, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups in the region, including Iraq, said it would reject any outcomes of al-Zaidi’s visit.

Iraq has also been one of several fronts in the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28, with the conflict looming and its recent escalation looming large during al-Zaidi’s visit.

Iraq’s economy has also been particularly hard hit by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with about 90 percent of its 3.4 million barrels per day of fossil fuel exports passing through the water.

The recent fighting has thrown into question the future of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which in June beckoned in a temporary end to the fighting, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iran.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, al-Zaidi also said that Iraq needs a “fair share” from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Iraq has been pushing for a higher quota on its oil production, with al-Zaidi saying the need is a direct result of the destruction caused by the war against ISIL, over which Iraq officially declared victory in 2017.

“The ⁠damage suffered by Iraq exceeds $400bn, and to this day, some ⁠Iraqis still have destroyed homes ⁠and are living in camps,” he said. “I have a plan to return them to their homes, and that is why I ‌want a fair share for Iraq in OPEC.”

[Aljazeera]

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 15 JULY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 15 July 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

A few showers may occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts. Dry weather will prevail over the other areas of the island.

Strong winds about (40-50) kmph can be expected at times over the  Western slopes of the Central hills, the Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Monaragala, Hambantota and Trincomalee districts.

Vast majority of wounded also non-convicts

A file picture of the Negombo Prison during the recent riots

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Department of Prisons yesterday (14) revealed that all inmates killed during the Negombo Prison riot were suspects. A senior official said so in response to The Island query. According to the official, among the wounded, too, the majority were suspects. The identities of the dead and the wounded inmates haven’t been officially released so far.

The official acknowledged that he, too, was surprised that convicts weren’t among the dead. Of them, two died on 5 July, 17 on the following day, within the Negombo Prison premises, and two after they were moved to other prisons. A top official of the Justice and National Integration Ministry explained the difficulties experienced in giving specific details due to the destruction of the relevant records.

The National Hospital yesterday reported that two wounded prison officers, warded there, succumbed to their injuries, raising the number of dead prison staff to 10.

The prison official and Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) asserted that the deaths and injuries, among the group of suspects held at the Negombo Prison, indicated that contrary to earlier reports Sunday’s flare-up and the subsequent violence seemed to have involved a section of the suspects and the prison personnel. CPRP pointed out as the Prisons Department has announced and already granted compensation to the tune of Rs 500,000 to prison personnel killed, the government should consider adequate compensation for suspects killed. The Justice Ministry official said that they were looking into this matter as well.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in a statement issued on 8 July pointed out that the vast majority of those who had been held in remand custody weren’t convicted of any offence and continued to enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law. Sources pointed out that the BASL, as well as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) statements, issued on 8 and 10 July, didn’t make reference to suspects being among the dead.

Sources familiar with the situation at the Negombo Prison said that comprehensive investigation was required to establish the truth. Initially, the riot was blamed on suspects who allegedly set upon the convicts, alleging that the latter passed information to Prison authorities regarding their nefarious activities. Had that been the case, the dead should have included convicts but there were none, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Prisons Department is under investigation by the HRCSL over the refusal of the Chief Jailer of the Welikada Prison to allow the HRCSL team to visit the Prison on the night of 7 July, following the death of a suspect moved from the Negombo Prison. Alleging that the Chief Jailer’s action thwarted timely investigation of the allegation, the HRCSL has summoned Acting Commissioner General of Prisons, R. Prasad Hemantha Kumara, and the Welikada Chief Jailer, for an inquiry.

HRCSL has said that those who had been transferred to other prisons, following the incidents at the Negombo Prison had been ill-treated and deprived of medical treatment. The HRCSL has pointed out that deliberate delay on the part of the Prison authorities to provide medical treatment tantamount to taking revenge on the ex-Negombo inmates.