An Iraqi official revealed on Thursday to Alhurra a new message sent by Washington to Baghdad regarding the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to lead the next government. The message was delivered to Baghdad a few days ago by the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack.
A government adviser told Alhurra that Barrack informed Iraqi officials and political leaders he met during the visit that time was running out to resolve the issue of al-Maliki’s nomination for the post of prime minister.
Barrack began his visit to Iraq on Monday with meetings with outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, President of the Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq Zaidan, and Taqaddum Party leader Mohammed al-Halbousi.
The government adviser confirmed that during his meetings, Barrack stated that the United States would begin imposing sanctions on Iraq by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. These sanctions, he said, would “start with political figures and former officials, and would later expand to include government institutions as well as entities operating in the private sector, specifically banks responsible for foreign financial transfers.”
According to the adviser, Iraqi officials told Barrack that they understood the possibility of sanctions being imposed on individuals. However, if sanctions were to extend to government institutions such as the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and the Central Bank of Iraq, this would lead to catastrophic consequences that could destabilize the country’s overall situation.
The adviser added that Barrack did not comment on the Iraqi concerns but stressed that the U.S. rejection of al-Maliki stems from Washington’s future vision for the nature of its relationship with Baghdad.
The adviser also revealed that Washington had previously given political forces a deadline until the end of last week, but political leaders requested an extension to give them more time to resolve the crisis surrounding al-Maliki’s nomination.
A spokesperson for the Iraqi government did not respond to a request for comment on the information contained in this report.
In response, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, replying to inquiries sent by Alhurra regarding the validity of the U.S. threat and whether there was a timeline for imposing sanctions on Baghdad, said: “We do not pre-announce sanctions, and we do not comment on private diplomatic discussions.”
The U.S. State Department had told Alhurra earlier last week that the United States would reassess its relationship with Iraq if it moved forward with al-Maliki’s nomination.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Alhurra that choosing al-Maliki as prime minister would force the U.S. government to reevaluate the relationship between the United States and Iraq and would have “negative” consequences for the Iraqi people.
The spokesperson explained that Washington’s priorities are clear and include “ending the dominance of Iran-backed militias over Iraqi politics and the threat they pose to the United States, Iraq, and the region.”
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Washington’s priorities also include, according to the spokesperson, “curbing Iranian influence and strengthening a robust trade relationship between Iraq and the United States and our shared regional partners.”
In this context, the government adviser confirmed that Washington sent a message last week through diplomatic channels outlining its vision for the future shape of the relationship with Baghdad.
According to the adviser, the message included several key points, most notably disarming pro-Iranian militias, integrating the Popular Mobilization Forces into official military institutions, ending Iranian influence in all its forms, and taking serious measures to combat corruption and reform the judicial system.
Efforts to nominate al-Maliki for a third term have grown more complicated after U.S. President Donald Trump warned earlier this month that Washington would provide no assistance to Iraq if al-Maliki returned to power.
Al-Maliki is the candidate of the Coordination Framework, the alliance of Shiite political forces that won a majority in last November’s elections, giving it, constitutionally, the right to nominate the prime minister.
Iraqi political sources told Alhurra this week that the prevailing trend within the Coordination Framework is leaning toward withdrawing al-Maliki’s nomination, amid increasing U.S. pressure and a growing number of forces within the alliance itself opposing his candidacy.
Salam al-Zubaidi, spokesperson for the Nasr Coalition led by Haider al-Abadi, told Alhurra on Monday that more than half of the Coordination Framework’s 12 members now believe that al-Maliki is not suitable to lead the next phase in Iraq, due to reservations about his nomination both domestically and internationally.
Al-Zubaidi confirmed that the general direction at present, and the most likely option for the Coordination Framework, is to withdraw al-Maliki’s nomination, after many forces that had previously supported him shifted toward the necessity of moving forward with another candidate.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Ghassan Taqi
A journalist specializing in Iraqi affairs, he has worked with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) since 2015. He previously spent several years with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as various Iraqi and Arab media outlets.
