President Donald Trump has threatened to end US support for Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wins power again.
Maliki, who has links to Iran, was selected at the weekend by an alliance of Shia-led parties as its nominee for prime minister.
The US president wrote on Truth Social that Maliki would be a "very bad choice", adding: "Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos."
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US President Donald Trump said Washington would stop supporting Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki, who headed the country’s government in 2016-2014, will once again become the prime minister.
ReplyDelete"I’m hearing that the Great Country of Iraq might make a very bad choice by reinstalling Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister. Last time Maliki was in power, the Country descended into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Because of his insane 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," he added.
Trump’s comments 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.
ReplyDeleteIn a letter, US representatives said that while the selection of the prime minister is an Iraqi decision, “the United States will make its own sovereign decisions regarding the next government in line with American interests”.
As part of Trump’s pressure campaign, Washington has also threatened senior Iraqi politicians with sanctions on the country should armed groups backed by Iran be included in the next government, the Reuters news agency reported last week.
ReplyDeleteOn Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iraq against a pro-Iranian government.
ReplyDeleteAl-Maliki, who left power in 2014 following heated pressure from the United States, has been chosen by Iraq’s largest Shia bloc, which would put him in line to be nominated prime minister.