US Envoy: Iran-backed Iraqi government would not be successful
Shafaq News– Washington (Updated on January 27 at 1:45)
The United States warned Iraq on Monday that any government installed by Iran "will not be successful," as Iraq's parliament prepares to vote on a new prime minister.
In a post on X, US Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack added that such a government could not deliver an “effective partnership” with Washington.
Productive phone call this evening with his excellency Masoud Barzani to discuss the situation in Syria and the importance of maintaining the ceasefire and ensuring humanitarian assistance to those in need, especially in Kobani. On Iraq, the U.S. position remains clear: a…
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) January 26, 2026
Earlier on Monday, the US Department of State said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a phone call with caretaker Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, stressed that a government controlled by Iran cannot successfully put Iraq’s own interests first, cannot keep Iraq out of regional conflicts, and cannot strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq.
The Coordination Framework (CF), an umbrella alliance of Shiite parties holding more than 185 seats in Iraq’s 329-member parliament, selected Nouri Al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition (SLC), as its candidate for prime minister. Al-Maliki, whose SLC secured 29 seats in the recent parliamentary elections, previously led two governments between 2006 and 2014.
Read more:Nouri Al-Maliki’s return rekindles Iraq’s divisions as Iran and the US pull apart
