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WASHINGTON - US Congressman Joe Wilson said on Monday that he is confident that there are efforts to "convince" Iraq when asked about his reaction to Baghdad's recent decision to halt the payment of Erbil's share in the federal budget.
"I very much appreciate the Kurdish region, their model of economic success and political success, and so I'm very confident that every effort will be made to convince the government in Baghdad," said Wilson, adding that Iraq is under the influence of Iran.
Tensions between Baghdad and Erbil flared recently after the Iraqi finance ministry suspended all budget transfers to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraqi Oil Minister Taif Sami claimed the decision stemmed from Erbil’s exceeding its 12.67 percent budget allocation for 2025 by 13.547 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $10.34 billion).
KRG officials have rejected Baghdad's claim, accusing the federal authorities of failing to fulfil its obligations.
The following is the full transcript of the interview with Wilson:
Rudaw: We've seen you. You have posted a lot on Iraq, and now the Iraqi government has cut all the salaries of the Kurdistan Regional Government. What's your reaction to this act from Baghdad against the Kurds?
Joe Wilson: Well, I very much appreciate the Kurdish region, their model of economic success and political success, and so I'm very confident that every effort will be made to convince the government in Baghdad, which is under the undue influence of Tehran. And so the bottom line, I had two sons serve in Iraq and they loved the people of Iraq and wanted them to live in freedom, and that's not what's occurring. So, we need to encourage, again, the recovery of the country, and I'm just confident President Trump will be leading the effort and to restrain Iran from its ability to interfere with the governance of the people of Iraq.
Recently, you sent a correspondent to Secretary Rubio about Iraq and sanctioning Iraq, including Iraq into the maximum pressure.
Yes.
Have you got any response from Secretary Rubio? and what's the reaction from the administration to these actions against Kurdistan from Baghdad?
Well, I really have the highest regard for Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He is fantastic. Actually, put in perspective, his family is in America because they had to flee totalitarianism, communism in Cuba. So he understands what oppression means. And so I'm just confident that working together with him and working together on developing a new positive government in Syria, that can be a message to the people of Iran that there should be change, and then the net effect is positive for the people of Iraq.
I saw many times you have posted on Twitter or X that you made Iraq great again. How are you going to do this?
Well, I want to make Iraq great again. Hey, I'm really grateful that it's been taken seriously by an investor from the United Arab Emirates to build a Trump Tower in Damascus, a 40-storey building. And so we needed a Trump tower on the Tigris. I think that would be good.
And then you spoke about Damascus. How do you see the recent negotiation between the Kurds and Syrian interim government? How do you support the Kurds to have their autonomy in northeast Syria?
Well, I see what is good, and that is that the new government of Syria [is] totally different from the Assad dictatorship. And so this gives [a] great opportunity for the whole region, and I'm just confident that, working with the new government and Syria, it'll have a ripple effect. And one of the ripples is, ultimately, the people of Iran will be able to stand up for themselves… This is ancient Persia. Much should be expected of such a fabulous civilization and world history and so I'm just one day I look forward to freedom coming to the people of Tehran to Iran, and then the ripple effect for the neighbors and we've already seen a positive change in Lebanon, too.
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