President Donald Trump took to Truth Social late Tuesday to send Iraq an unmistakable message: don't even think about bringing back Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister.
Trump didn't mince words in his post. "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," he wrote.
Then came the threat. "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," Trump added.
Why This Matters Now
The timing here is everything. Iraq's Shiite Coordination Framework recently endorsed Maliki for prime minister after caretaker PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stepped aside earlier this month. Al-Sudani had won the most seats in November's election but couldn't manage to form a government, opening the door for Maliki's potential comeback.
For those keeping score at home, Maliki served as Iraq's prime minister from 2006 to 2014. That tenure didn't exactly cover him in glory. He's a senior figure in the Shiite Islamist Dawa Party, and his time in office was marked by sectarian policies that critics say helped create the conditions for the Islamic State's rise and sent the country spiraling into instability.
The Iran Factor
There's a broader geopolitical chess game happening here. According to previous reports from Reuters, U.S. officials have been warning senior Iraqi politicians that sanctions could be on the table—potentially even cutting Iraq's access to crucial oil revenues—if Iran-backed armed groups end up in the next government.
Meanwhile, Iran itself is dealing with its own problems. The country continues to face widespread protests and unrest as citizens demand better living conditions and an end to government corruption. Trump has reportedly been briefed on intelligence suggesting that Iran's ruling establishment is under significant internal pressure, with its grip on power at its weakest point since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
So Trump's warning isn't just about one politician's return to power. It's part of a much larger strategy to limit Iranian influence in Iraq while the Islamic Republic deals with mounting domestic challenges.
