Shafaq News- Washington
The US government will reassess its relationship with Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki returns as prime minister, a State Department official told Shafaq News on Friday, framing his selection as a negative outcome for Iraq and tying Washington’s stance to curbing Iranian-backed armed influence.
The official declined to give conditions that could change the US position, adding, “We will not speak to details, but the selection of Al-Maliki would be a negative outcome for the Iraqi people.” He listed Washington’s priorities as “ending the dominance of Iran-backed min Iraqi politics; winding down Iranian influence; and promoting a strong business relationship between Iraq, the United States, and our shared regional partners.”
The State Department remarks land as Iraq’s government-formation talks remain stuck and Al-Maliki’s candidacy continues to divide political blocs. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein described the nomination as an internal matter earlier today, while also saying Baghdad takes US signals on the issue seriously.
Al-Maliki, who leads the State of Law Coalition and remains the Coordination Framework’s, an umbrella coalition of Iraq’s ruling Shiite political forces, pick for the premiership, has publicly rejected US pressure, arguing his nomination would not trigger economic penalties. He has said he would only step aside if a majority inside the Framework asked him to withdraw.
President Donald Trump has also weighed in directly. In a Jan. 27 post on Truth Social, he said Al-Maliki’s return “should not be allowed,” accusing him of presiding over a period in which Iraq slid into “poverty and chaos.”
The Framework has repeatedly insisted the prime minister’s selection is a constitutional Iraqi decision, while signaling it is still weighing political options to prevent the dispute from destabilizing the broader governing process and Iraq’s external ties.
Read more: Nouri Al-Maliki’s return rekindles Iraq’s divisions as Iran and the US pull apart
For Shafaq News, Mostafa Hashem, Washington D.C.