Shafaq News– Baghdad

Former Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki said on Saturday he remains determined to seek the premiership in Iraq’s next government, brushing aside explicit opposition from US President Donald Trump.

Responding to journalists’ questions through a media communication platform, Al-Maliki said repeated election outcomes showed that Iraq’s political system is rooted in democratic choice and political partnership, arguing that no external party has the right to override what he described as the will of Iraqi voters and institutions.

He said the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), the largest parliamentary bloc to which Al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition (SLC) belongs and has nominated him for the post, is acting within Iraq’s constitutional and sovereign process. “We hope others respect Iraq’s choices just as Iraq respects their right to manage their own affairs,” he said.

Al-Maliki added that forming the next government is a “national matter,” stressing that “Baghdad seeks balanced political, economic, and security relations with all regional and major powers.”

Trump has publicly rejected Al-Maliki’s bid to form the next Iraqi government, arguing that during Al-Maliki’s previous tenure, the country “descended into poverty and total chaos," adding that his return “should not be allowed to happen again,” an intervention that has sharpened debate within Iraq’s ruling coalition. Earlier, three sources told Shafaq News that CF held consultative meetings following Trump’s remarks, exposing internal divisions over both Al-Maliki’s candidacy and how to respond to US pressure. One camp favors maintaining support for Al-Maliki as a matter of sovereignty, while another has urged consideration of an alternative candidate to avoid domestic friction and potential diplomatic fallout. Discussions also reflected concern over balancing political independence with the risk of international isolation or loss of external support.