Trump and Iraq's PM reportedly weighed a US invasion of Iran via Iraq

Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reportedly walked through war scenarios against Iran on a phone call — and one of them had US forces moving into southern Iran through Iraq. Al Mada News broke the detail, citing unnamed sources close to the Iraqi government. The outlet says the call happened last Thursday.

The talk wasn't one-sided. Per Al Mada News, the two also discussed an Iranian land attack on Kuwait launched from Iraqi territory. That's the geography at the center of it: Iraq borders both Iran and Kuwait, which makes Baghdad's turf the pivot point in any wider fight.

Trump came to the call unhappy. He told al-Zaidi that Iraq's assurances it would seize weapons from Iran-aligned Shia militias weren't enough, and pushed him to act, according to the report.

Al-Zaidi took that back to the factions. He held a closed-door meeting with Shiite groups and warned the government would launch mass arrests of their leaders if they gave Iran military assistance. The militia leaders shot back that any attempt to arrest them would bring the government down.

One outlet, unnamed sources, and no public confirmation yet from Washington or Baghdad. Al Mada News is the only source on what was said, so the specifics stay in reported territory for now. The next tell: whether either government puts anything on the record.