Iraq revealed Wednesday that it received a “clear and explicit hint” of the possibility of imposing sanctions on certain individuals and institutions if the State of Law Coalition leader, Nouri al-Maliki, is tasked with forming the next Iraqi government.
This came in a statement issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to a televised interview with Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in which he addressed the American messages on this matter without mentioning any threats.
The Ministry stated, “The verbal message received from the American side in Washington, should the largest bloc (the Coordination Framework) insist on its current candidate (Nouri alMaliki), included, firstly, a clear and explicit hint of the possibility of imposing sanctions on certain individuals and institutions.”
It added that the second part of the message contained a set of criteria related to the nature of cooperation and joint work with the United States, particularly concerning the formation of any future government and its operational mechanisms.
The Ministry emphasized that the Minister’s remarks in the interview focused on the criteria mentioned in the second part and did not address the content of the first part, which contained the hint of sanctions.
This led to confusion in some media coverage. The Iraqi political scene is witnessing a state of confusion following a post by US President Donald Trump threatening to halt cooperation with Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki is appointed to head the next government.
Maliki refuses to withdraw his candidacy, while some within the Coordination Committee have expressed their desire to withdraw it to spare Iraq any negative repercussions.
The Coordination Committee, as the largest parliamentary bloc, had previously nominated Maliki for the premiership by a majority vote on January 24.
–KUNA
