Iraq’s alliance of political blocs, the Co-ordination Framework, reaffirmed yesterday its support for former premier Nouri Al Maliki to lead the next government, despite a warning from US President Donald Trump that Washington would no longer help Iraq if Maliki returned to power.
The bloc, which holds a majority in parliament, picked Maliki, Iraq’s first elected prime minister after a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, as its nominee for the post following an election.
“The choice of the prime minister is a purely Iraqi constitutional matter and should proceed without foreign interference,” the Co-ordination Framework said in a statement, adding that it seeks balanced relations with international partners based on mutual respect.
Trump’s threats are the starkest example yet of the Republican president’s campaign to curb Iran-linked groups’ influence in Iraq, which has long walked a tightrope between its two closest allies, Washington and Tehran.
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