Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said that proposals declared by some parliamentary blocs to submit a bill calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq have become from the past. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat from Washington, he stressed that the subject had been agreed upon between the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker, as well as with all the political blocs and parties, and that it was withdrawn from the table of discussions. He added that calling for the withdrawal of the US-led coalition forces from Iraq at this stage was “in the interest of terrorism”, emphasizing that the presence of the forces was “a guarantee for Iraq and provided political cover in the face of foreign interventions.” Halbousi, who visited the US capital heading a parliamentary delegation, met with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. “The war on terror is not over. This is what I discussed with American officials. We agreed that we have entered a new phase of this war, which aims at drying up [terrorists’] intellectual and financial resources and depriving this extremist ideology of its ability to attract new followers,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. The Iraqi speaker noted that he discussed with US officials the sanctions imposed on Iran and that he asked for more time for Iraq to develop its capabilities and investments, which would enable it to abandon any other sources of energy needed by the Iraqi people at the current time. He added that Iraq was using Iranian gas and electric power and that he reviewed with the US officials projects between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil with ExxonMobil to invest in these sectors in order to help Iraq to become self-sufficient. Halbousi stressed that Iraq did not defend any side, but the current circumstances did not allow it to meet its energy needs, adding that it was no secret he was dissatisfied with the Iranian intervention in his country and the region.