Iraqi PM Al-Zaidi Cites Leaked U.S. War Plans via Iraq, Al-Mada Says

According to the Baghdad daily Al-Mada, the remarks came in a closed Coordination Framework meeting and rested on anonymous sources close to the government, not an on-record prime ministerial statement.

Three Scenarios, Two Fronts

Al-Mada said al-Zaidi told Shiite coalition leaders he had seen “part of” leaks of a war plan presented to U.S. President Donald Trump that contained three scenarios.

One scenario, as he reportedly described it, involved American forces entering through Iraq to invade southern Iran.

Another possibility he put before the meeting was that Iran would press Baghdad to enter Kuwait from Iraqi territory. Al-Mada’s subheadline framed Basra as the corridor Tehran would seek to use for such a move.

The newspaper presented those paths as linked risks for a state sitting between the two combatants. The plans themselves have not been independently verified.

There was no immediate public comment from the White House or the Iraqi prime minister’s office.

Arrest Warning and Framework Pushback

In the same session, al-Zaidi reportedly interrupted a speaker to warn that armed factions would be arrested if they fought alongside Iran.

Sources close to the government palace, Al-Mada wrote, cast the choice as stark: detain the groups if they join Tehran, or leave Washington to handle them itself.

Qais al-Khazali, the Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader, was said to have argued that factions might join a prolonged confrontation with Iran but would stay out of a short, limited war.

Humam Hamoudi objected, the paper reported, warning that carrying out such arrests could bring down both the government and the Coordination Framework.

Abu Alaa al-Walai was quoted telling al-Zaidi that factions would hand over weapons “in boxes” if a truce arrived, but that the demand was “impossible” if war broke out.

Pressure From Washington

Al-Mada tied the briefing to a Thursday phone call between al-Zaidi and Trump in which, according to the same anonymous sources, Washington warned against Iraq being pulled into the conflict and pressed Baghdad to act on militia arms rather than manage talks alone.

The account sits against a wider U.S.–Iran standoff in which Trump has called renewed strikes “highly unlikely” if nuclear and Hormuz talks advance, while also saying Task Force Iron Gate is in full force alongside the naval blockade.

Political sources cited by Al-Mada also warned that either side could try to use Iraqi soil as a launch pad for attack or retaliation—another claim that remains unconfirmed beyond the paper’s sourcing.

Baghdad’s Balancing Act

Al-Zaidi, who took office in May 2026 after parliament approved his government, has been pressing Iran-aligned groups to disarm and submit to state control, in line with Baghdad’s phased militia disarmament plan.

Al-Mada said faction leaders had recently pulled back from weapons-handover talks even as international pressure for a timed program intensified.

Whether the leaked scenarios reflect live U.S. planning, contingency drafting, or political signaling inside Baghdad cannot be established from Al-Mada’s anonymous account alone.