Asked about Iraq's Prime Minister, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “We have zero doubt of his commitment to doing this.” No extension was requested. September 30 stands.
Turkey agreed to hand back its base. Syria asked for the militias off its border. The coalition is packing out of Erbil.
Washington's answer
Iraq's holdout militias spent all summer betting that the September 30 weapons deadline would bend. On Wednesday in New York, Rubio closed that bet on camera. At least three militias have disarmed and joined the national government, he said, with at least one still refusing. Kurdish press confirmed al-Zaidi never asked Washington to extend the deadline, and even Nouri al-Maliki now says the weapons program and timetable will be announced on September 30. Baghdad says it will collect roughly 6 million weapons held outside its institutions, starting that day.
Every exit in one week
- Turkey — agreed to hand back its Bashiqa base near Mosul in stages — a base set up in 2015 without Baghdad's consent — in exchange for Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and the PKK out.
- Syria — President al-Sharaa met al-Zaidi for the first time, asked for militia-linked units to be kept off the border, and offered a second crossing, Al Qaim, for Iraq's fuel exports.
- The coalition — American air defenses are being packed out of Erbil ahead of the September 30 exit.
- The law — the two militia (PMF) bills go to parliament as soon as al-Zaidi lands.
- The money — al-Zaidi offered U.S. companies land ownership and 10-year tax holidays, and told the IMF the government is restructuring Iraq's fiscal policy.
The dollar and the street
The U.S. 5-year yield broke 5% for the first time since 2007 and the dollar hit a seven-week high, while on Baghdad's street the dollar eased to 157,000 dinars per $100 against the official 131,000. Tuesday, September 29, is the deadline for Iraqi banks to hand the CBI full databases on politicians and their relatives. The 2027 budget reaches parliament October 15.
That is the short version — why these exits matter for the IQD, the history lesson that shows the order this runs in, and the watch list from here is the deeper read.
Credit: Written by Reset Intelligence — David E. Atterton, author of Head of the Snake (@EXIT_FIAT). More at resetintelligence.com.
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