Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al‑Zaidi said on Tuesday that the country must secure a fair share within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), responding to reporters who asked whether Baghdad was weighing an exit from the oil producers’ group, Reuters reported.

Al‑Zaidi is visiting Washington to attract major US investment in Iraq’s oil, gas, and power sectors, as the country works to recover from the Iran war that battered crude production and strained state finances.

“Iraq is one of the founding members of OPEC… Our right is to receive a fair share for Iraq,” ​he told reporters at the White House ​during a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Al‑Zaidi pointed to Iraq’s past battles with the Islamic State, noting that the militant group had inflicted enormous costs on the country and left its infrastructure in ruins.

“The damage suffered by Iraq exceeds $400 ​billion, and ​to this ⁠day some Iraqis still have destroyed homes and are living in camps. ​I have a plan to return them ​to ⁠their homes, and that is why I want a fair share for Iraq in OPEC,” al‑Zaidi noted.

In June, Iraq’s Oil Ministry stated that OPEC and its allies have begun gradually restoring Iraq’s production quotas, particularly the voluntary cuts, as part of efforts to increase the country’s production capacity over the coming months, according to Iraq News Agency (INA). al-Zaidi had discussed Iraq’s withdrawal from OPEC, stressing that the government remains committed to the organization while seeking a reassessment of production quotas in line with member states’ circumstances and existing agreements.

It is worth noting that the UAE announced in April that it is withdrawing from both OPEC and OPEC+, a major setback for the oil producers’ alliance and its leading member, Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters. The decision comes amid the ongoing Iran war, which has triggered an energy shock and rattled global markets.