(Washington) American Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iraq on Sunday against any rapprochement with Iran, while former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, supported by Shiite parties close to Tehran, should soon regain his post.
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Mr. Maliki, a central figure in political life in Iraq, received the support on Saturday of the country’s main Shiite alliance, the Coordination Framework, which holds the majority in Parliament and has various links with Tehran.
During a telephone interview with the current Prime Minister, Mohamed Chia al-Soudani, Marco Rubio said he hoped that the future Iraqi government would make the country “a force for stability, prosperity and security” in the Middle East.
PHOTO MARKUS SCHREIBER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
“The secretary emphasized that an Iranian-controlled government cannot successfully put Iraq’s own interests first, keep Iraq out of regional conflicts, or advance the mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq,” according to comments reported by his spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
A possible pro-Iran Iraqi government would be a rare breakthrough for Tehran, which is encountering difficulties both nationally and internationally.
The Islamic Republic was shaken by a large-scale protest movement starting at the end of December. The demonstrations were harshly repressed, with deaths numbering in the thousands.
PHOTO ATTA KENARE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Passers-by walk past a building burned and destroyed during public protests in Tehran, January 19, 2026.
And since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, Iran has suffered direct Israeli and American strikes, and seen regional allies greatly weakened or ousted.
The United States expressed its “negative opinion regarding the previous governments led by former Prime Minister Maliki,” a source in the Iraqi political sphere told AFP.
In a letter, US officials said Washington would make “its own sovereign decisions about the next government, consistent with US interests”, recognizing nevertheless that it is up to Iraq to choose its leaders.
The United States has significant leverage against Iraq. They control a large part of the country’s oil export revenues under a 2003 agreement reached after the US invasion and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Current Prime Minister Soudani, in office since 2022, has earned American trust by working to reduce the violence of Shiite armed groups supported by Tehran, which Washington does not want to see become emboldened again.
