President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday (local time) that the US would end support for Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returns to power.
Trump’s threat came days after al-Maliki was nominated as prime ministerial candidate by the pro-Iranian Coordination Framework, the largest Shiite bloc in Iraq’s parliament.
“I have heard that the Great Country of Iraq might make a very bad choice by re-installing Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister. The last time Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and total chaos,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“This should not happen again. Because of his crazy policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq, and if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of success, prosperity or freedom,” the US president added, signing the statement “MAKE IRAQ AGAIN”.
Trump’s latest threat came days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed in a phone call with acting Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani that a pro-Iranian government in Iraq would be harmful to the Middle Eastern country and the United States.
“The secretary emphasized that an Iranian-controlled government cannot successfully put Iraq’s own interests first, keep Iraq out of regional conflicts, or promote a mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, quoted by AFP in a phone call with Rubio.
Who is Nouri al-Maliki?
Former prime minister and current head of the Islamic Dawa al-Maliki began his political career against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in the early 1970s.
However, al-Maliki fled the country in 1979 to escape the death penalty and remained in exile until 2003, when US-led coalition forces invaded Iran and toppled Saddam’s regime.
The former exiled leader then served as Iraq’s prime minister for two terms, from 2006 to 2014, becoming one of the country’s most influential Shiite leaders in the post-Saddam era.
During his tenure as prime minister, al-Maliki played a key role in the execution of Saddam Hussein, refusing a stay and ruling out a review or delay. The execution was carried out on 30.12.2006.
After two terms in office and amid accusations that he had failed to halt the rise of Islamic State, al-Maliki stepped down as prime minister in 2014, but did not disappear from Iraq’s political scene, serving as vice president from 2014 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2018.
The former prime minister is married to Faleeha Khalil and has four daughters and one son.
