The US is asking the new Iraqi prime minister to take tough action against pro-Iranian militias. Full support will be restored only after they are displaced from the state structures and budget.
Before resuming full support for Baghdad, the United States expects the new Iraqi prime minister to take concrete steps to separate the state from pro-Iranian groups. TASR writes about it according to an AFP report.
- The United States expects the new Iraqi prime minister to distance himself from pro-Iranian groups.
- The Iraqi coalition nominated Ali and Zaidí, and Donald Trump welcomed the nomination.
- Donald Trump had previously threatened to stop support if Núri Malíkí won.
- Washington demands the exclusion of terrorist militias from state institutions and the Iraqi budget.
- The Americans have suspended oil revenue and security support after hundreds of attacks on facilities.
The Iraqi government coalition nominated Ali al-Zaidi as the future leader, whom US President Donald Trump subsequently congratulated on this nomination. But before that, he threatened to end any American support, in case the recent favorite Núri Malíkí gets into office. During his previous term in office, relations with Washington deteriorated due to accusations of close ties to Iran’s Shiite government and of inciting religious unrest.
Requirements for a new prime minister
A senior US State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the prime minister-designate must take concrete steps to separate the state from pro-Iranian armed groups in order to regain US support.
The restoration of full support is conditional on “excluding terrorist militias from all state institutions, stopping their financing from the Iraqi budget and ending the payment of salaries to the fighters of these militias,” the American official specified.
Financial and security measures
“These are concrete steps that would strengthen our confidence and confirm a change in thinking,” he added.
Washington has suspended financial transfers from oil revenues, which have been administered through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York since 2003 as part of a deal struck after the US invasion of Iraq, as well as security support in response to an increase in attacks on US facilities in Iraq.
According to the official, American facilities in Iraq have been the target of more than 600 attacks since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. They stopped on April 8 after the conclusion of a fragile truce between the US and Iran.
