Iraqi lawmakers request summoning foreign minister over US ambassador's "interference"

Shafaq News/ A group of 52 lawmakers has lodged a motion with the Iraqi parliament's presidium to summon Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein over unwarranted "intervention" of US Ambassador Alina Romanowski in the internal affairs of the country, an official correspondence read on Sunday.

Several Iraqi factions have voiced criticism over the recent increase in the activity of the US ambassador to Iraq. They have expressed concerns over what they perceive as undue interference in Iraq's internal affairs.

Romanowski's frequent meetings with government officials, participation in workshops, seminars, and other events, as well as her engagement with different political groups, has been viewed as a cause for alarm and an attempt to exert undue influence over Iraq's political affairs.

The correspondence stamped by lawmaker Hasan Salem, the head of the Sadiqoun bloc, described Romanowski's "repeated visits to the ministries" and "movements in the Iraqi governorates" as "flagrant" interference in Iraq's internal affairs.

Salem gathered the signatures of 52 legislators to summon the foreign minister in order to "discuss and gain insight into the ministry's perspective" on the matter.

In 2019, the then-Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, accused the then-US ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, of meddling in Iraqi affairs, leading to calls for his expulsion.

Similarly, in 2020, Iraqi lawmakers demanded the expulsion of the US ambassador over allegations of involvement in targeting Iraqi military officials.