Trump warns US could halt support if Iraq reinstalls Maliki as prime minister

BAGHDAD – U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States would “no longer help” Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returns to power, in a post on Truth Social that comes days after Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework nominated Maliki for the premiership.

“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. 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. MAKE IRAQ GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.

The warning undercut recent messaging from Maliki allies about U.S. positioning. Aqeel al-Fatlawi, a spokesperson for Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, said in an interview in a TV interview that U.S. silence amounted to acceptance of Maliki’s nomination, arguing that Washington’s interests in the region require moving toward restricting weapons to the hands of the state and that Maliki is best positioned to regulate the conduct of armed factions.

During Maliki’s second term as prime minister from 2010 to 2014, Sunni political forces and communities repeatedly accused his government of pursuing exclusionary policies that deepened sectarian tensions. The period was marked by mass protests in several Sunni-majority governorates over arrests, de-Baathification measures and the use of anti-terrorism laws, followed by security crackdowns that further strained relations between Baghdad and Sunni leaders. Maliki stepped down in 2014 under intense domestic and international pressure following the collapse of Iraqi army positions and the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State group.

Fatlawi also said there is “no constitutional opportunity to object to Mr. al-Maliki’s nomination, because he is the nominee of the largest bloc,” while describing objections from Mohammed al-Halbousi’s Taqaddum Party as natural and acceptable. He said the coalition had contacted Taqaddum over statements by bloggers it said went beyond norms and received a response that the individuals represented only themselves.

The Sunni Taqaddum Party announced Tuesday it will not participate in a new government led by figures it said would return the country to sectarian conflict, calling on the Coordination Framework to take ‘national acceptance’ into account as it moves to form the next government. An official from Maliki’s State of Law coalition responded that going into opposition is part of a “living democratic system”.