Key Remarks by Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi in an Interview with Asharq Al-Awsat 🔵 There will be no retreat from the fight against corruption, as corruption has become a threat to the very existence of the Iraqi state. 🔵 Some individuals seek to enter the Iraqi state not to serve it, but to steal from it. 🔵 Iraq has developed a distorted culture centered on competition in looting and theft. We are determined to end this and write a new chapter for Iraq. 🔵 There is no place for corruption, and no place for weapons outside state authority. By the end of this year, we will convene a National Sovereignty Conference dedicated to affirming the state’s exclusive monopoly on the legitimate use of force through its official institutions. 🔵 We face two choices: either accommodate the interests of certain individuals and lose the pleasure of Almighty Allah and the trust of the people, or remove them. 🔵 We have directed the Minister of Finance to establish a dedicated account for the recovery of Iraq’s stolen assets. 🔵 Iraq has given us everything we have. Without Iraq, we would not be who we are today. It is our duty to repay this debt. 🔵 I have announced that I will not receive a salary, nor will I accept any gift, even a necktie. My hands will never touch public funds. 🔵 We will not seek another term in office, nor will we establish a political party. We are committed to showing the world that Iraq is a true source of leadership and that its people are fully capable of governing this historic nation. 🔵 I will not accept dictates from outside our borders, whether from the East or the West. Iraq’s decisions belong to its people alone. 🔵 Nothing comes before Iraq. The interests of the Iraqi people are my foremost priority. It is in our people’s interest to build distinguished relations with the international community and with neighboring countries. 🔵 We have found no evidence that the attacks against the Gulf countries originated from Iraqi territory, and specialized committees have been formed to investigate the matter. 🔵 We have instructed all security commanders to confront any attempt to use Iraqi territory to launch attacks against neighboring countries. 🔵 Following our visit to the United States, we will also undertake working visits to Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. 🔵 Our vision for reforming Iraq’s economy is to move decisively toward a market economy and move beyond the old economic model. 🔵 We face a large number of conflicting laws. Some dating back to the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council were enacted under a socialist mindset that is no longer suitable. 🔵 We are moving forward with establishing the Energy and Development Fund, with contributions from the Central Bank of Iraq. It will be offered for public subscription, and we will invite Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar to participate, along with U.S. and European funds and banks. 🔵 Iraq’s production quota within OPEC does not reflect the circumstances the country has endured, its population, or the cost it bore in fighting ISIS on behalf of the world. 🔵 We seek a fair mechanism for allocating OPEC crude oil production quotas that protects the rights of Iraq and the Iraqi people. 🔵 We will not enter into a borrowing program with the International Monetary Fund, as there is no longer any need to do so. 🔵 The issues related to U.S. dollar shipments and cash deliveries have been resolved, and the funds have now been received. 🔵 The factions are ideological groups, and we believe their public commitment to relinquishing their weapons is an important first step. 🔵 We have received various types of weapons from Saraya Al-Salam, Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq, and Kata’ib Imam Ali. 🔵 More important than surrendering weapons is severing the organizational link between the factions and their fighters. 🔵 We believe that resistance is a necessity, not a profession. That necessity no longer exists, and we will not accept the existence of a state within a state. 🔵 The U.S.