Iraq’s Shi’ite bloc reaffirms backing for Maliki despite Trump’s warnings
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FILE PHOTO: Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki walks at a polling station inside Al-Rasheed Hotel during the parliamentary election in Baghdad, Iraq, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
Jan 31 - Iraq's alliance of Shi'ite political blocs, the Coordination Framework, reaffirmed on Saturday its support for former premier Nouri al-Maliki to lead the next government, despite a warning from U.S. 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 U.S.-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 Coordination 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. REUTERS
