He honored Khamenei. Then he broke bread with Trump.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pulled off a dramatic diplomatic high-wire act this week: he attended Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei's funeral just days earlier, then flew to the White House to meet the man who ordered Khamenei's death. Axios reports that Zaidi, who took office in May, resisted Iranian pressure not to make the visit. Trump didn't hold back his enthusiasm, calling Zaidi a 'fantastic champion' and adding an unplanned lunch to their meeting. Like every Iraqi leader of the past two decades, Zaidi must balance relations with both Washington and Tehran—but when both sides are in active conflict, the stakes are infinitely higher. US officials see this visit as a signal Zaidi is serious about an 'Iraq first' agenda, including disarming Iranian-backed militias and completing the US troop withdrawal by September.

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