WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off Washington’s aid to Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returns as the next head of government.
President Trump said on Tuesday that Iraq would make a “very bad choice” in Maliki, who was nominated by the largest Shi’ite faction to be prime minister, citing his “political and administrative experience and role in running the country.”
Iraq held national elections in November with 329 seats contested. The Shia alliance won 187 seats.
In a statement on Sunday, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid congratulated Al-Maliki on his nomination and expressed hope that his leadership will strengthen political stability, national partnership, and development in Iraq, as well as respond to the Iraqi people’s aspirations for security and service.
Al-Maliki, leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, served as Prime Minister of Iraq for two consecutive terms from 2006 to 2014.
“The last time Mr. Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and utter chaos. We should not allow that to happen again,” Trump said on his platform Truth Social.
“Because of his insane policies and ideology, if elected, the United States will no longer support Iraq,” he said.
“If we don’t come to our rescue, Iraq has no chance of success, prosperity and freedom. Let’s make Iraq great again!”
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President Trump’s comments are the most blatant example of the Republican president’s campaign to curb the influence of Iranian-affiliated groups in Iraq. Iraq has long walked a tightrope between its two closest allies, the United States and Iran.
The U.S. representative said in the letter that while the choice of prime minister is Iraq’s decision, “the United States will make its own sovereign decision regarding the next government in line with U.S. interests.”
As part of President Trump’s pressure campaign, the US government threatened senior Iraqi politicians with sanctions against the country if Iranian-backed militants were integrated into the next government, Reuters reported last week.
Al-Maliki, 75, is a senior member of the Shitte Islamist Dawa Party. His tenure as prime minister from 2006 to 2014 was marked by power struggles with Sunni and Kurdish rivals and rising tensions with the United States.
Although he resigned after Islamic State seized much of the country in 2014, he remains an influential politician, leading the Coalition for the Rule of Law and maintaining close ties with Iranian-backed forces.
The United States wields significant influence over Iraq, as most of the country’s oil export revenues are kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in an agreement reached after the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. — Agency
