The US has threatened to impose sanctions if Iraq's largest parliamentary bloc insists on nominating Nouri Al Maliki as prime minister, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.
Late last month, the Co-ordination Framework, a Shiite-led parliamentary alliance, put Mr Al Maliki forward as its candidate to lead the next government after elections last November. The decision was based on his “political and administrative experience, and his role in managing the state", it said.
But US President Donald Trump warned Washington would no longer support Iraq if Mr Al Maliki became prime minister and said the country would have “zero chance” of success. “Last time Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and total chaos,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “That should not be allowed to happen again.”
But the Co-ordination Framework stressed its support for Mr Al Maliki, saying it is a “purely Iraqi constitutional matter based on the mechanism of the political process, taking into account the national interests and free from external dictate”.
According to the ministry's statement, issued at dawn on Thursday, the US delivered a "verbal message" to the Iraqi embassy in Washington that contained two main points if the largest bloc insisted on backing the former prime minister to return to the post.
The first point had a "clear hint at possible sanctions on some individuals and institutions", while the second "outlined co-operation criteria with the US, particularly regarding the formation of a new government and its working mechanisms".
This is the first official statement from the Iraqi government that confirms the threats, as talks are held to form a new government. The US has been involved in the process and the possibility of sanctions has raised concerns about external interference in Iraqi affairs.
Mr Al Maliki, 75, is secretary general of the Dawa Party, one of the main Shiite groups that opposed Saddam Hussein, and he has been an influential player in Iraqi politics since 2003. Mr Al Maliki served two terms as prime minister between 2006 and 2014 and was later accused of deepening the country's sectarian politics, fuelling corruption and increasing tension with Iraq’s mainly Sunni neighbours. He has forged alliances with Iran and its proxies in Iraq.
Mr Al Maliki has repeatedly denied enabling Iran-backed militant groups while in power, when billions of dollars of US reconstruction funds flowed into Iraq. His marginalisation of the country's Sunnis is considered by analysts as having led to the 2014 onslaught by ISIS and its capture of large parts of northern and western Iraq.
