US doubles down against Maliki, vows ‘full range of options’ to back Trump policy in Iraq

The Iraqi candidate for the premiership said his withdrawal from the race at Washington’s demand was a violation of his country’s sovereignty  

News Desk - The Cradle

Washington has doubled down on its position against the selection of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki as a candidate for the premiership, after Maliki vowed to continue with his nomination “until the end.”

In a statement to Rudaw on 4 February, a US official said President Donald Trump’s “policy towards Iraq requires an Iraqi government that is capable of working effectively and respectfully with the United States.”

“We are prepared to use the full range of tools to implement the president’s policy and have communicated this to Iraqi political leadership,” the State Department official added.

He also reiterated Trump’s recent statement that Washington will “no longer help” Iraq if Maliki is elected. 

A day earlier, Maliki told Iraqi media outlet Al-Sharqiya in an interview that he would welcome a decision by the Shia-led Coordination Framework (CF) to withdraw his nomination.

“I have no objection to withdrawing. But only if the decision is taken by the Coordination Framework, which nominated me. Withdrawing in response to pressure from a foreign state would set a dangerous precedent and undermine national sovereignty,” he said. 

Referring to Trump’s social media post condemning Maliki’s nomination, the former premier said, “I heard the tweet may have been written here [in Iraq],” signaling domestic involvement in Washington’s position. 

“These are pressure tools,” he said of US threats to strangle Iraq economically if he is elected. 

The Shia-led CF is a political coalition made up of several Iran-linked resistance groups that fought ISIS and targeted US bases and Israeli sites at the start of the Gaza genocide in October 2023. 

Over the weekend, the CF affirmed in a statement “its support for its nominee, Nouri Kamel al-Maliki, for the premiership.”

Maliki’s nomination late last month comes after Iraqi Premier Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, now operating as a caretaker prime minister, decided to step down and not seek a second term.

The CF nominated Maliki on 24 January, saying it reached the decision by a majority vote.

Maliki previously served two terms as prime minister in the wake of the 2003 US invasion. He leads the Islamic Dawa Party, whose leaders returned to Iraq from exile in Iran after US forces toppled the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. 

Maliki has historically enjoyed close ties with the Iran, but has also maintained a balanced relationship with the US.

In January, US officials threatened to cut off Iraq's access to revenue from its own oil sales, which are held in the New York Federal Reserve Bank, if parties affiliated with the Iraqi resistance and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) joined the new government.