Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will visit Washington on Monday to strengthen strategic ties with the US, with oil and gas deals expected as Baghdad seeks to diversify export routes and reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz amid regional tensions.

The US Treasury Department described Ansari as a "key financier" for Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and accused him of large-scale, institutionalised embezzlement within the Iranian regime