Trump Threatens Iraq With Crippling Sanctions If Maliki Elected To 3rd Term As PM

Via The Cradle

Washington has delivered a direct warning to Iraq’s Coordination Framework (CF) that Baghdad could face sweeping sanctions if former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is elected to lead the country for a third term, according to a report in US-government funded Arabic-language Alhurra this week.

An Iraqi government advisor, speaking anonymously, reportedly said the message outlined economic and institutional penalties that could follow if US President Donald Trump’s veto of Maliki’s nomination is ignored.

The advisor said the US threatened measures against the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), the Central Bank of Iraq, as well as security and diplomatic sectors, and unnamed political figures. 

Economic steps could include restricting Iraqi oil sales, limiting Baghdad’s access to US dollars, and targeting banks, which the advisor warned could trigger “an almost complete halt in foreign trade” and create serious obstacles to paying public-sector salaries.

A member of the CF confirmed the authenticity of the message, saying it reached the alliance through a senior figure who met US chargé d’affaires Joshua Harris. 

The US embassy in Iraq later disclosed that Harris had met Abdul Hussein al-Moussawi, head of the National Approach Alliance, and reiterated Washington’s readiness to “use the full range of tools to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in Iraq.”

Trump said on Friday, “We are monitoring the situation regarding the prime minister. We will see what happens. We have some thoughts about it, but in the end, everyone needs America.”

Earlier, Maliki said stepping aside would endanger Iraq’s sovereignty and that he would withdraw only if the CF formally requested it, condemning what he described as “blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.“

Internal resistance within the alliance has reportedly grown, with one member stating: “No one wants … to risk the collapse of the political system if Washington carries out its threats.”

Earlier this month, Washington publicly reinforced its opposition to Nouri al-Maliki’s return as Iraq’s prime minister, with a US official telling Rudaw that Trump’s “policy towards Iraq requires an Iraqi government that is capable of working effectively and respectfully with the United States,” and warning that the administration was prepared to use the “full range of tools” to enforce that stance. 

“Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom. MAKE IRAQ GREAT AGAIN!”

A reminder and recent history lesson: one byproduct of Bush’s overthrow of Saddam Hussein was that the Americans essentially handed Iraq over to pro-Iran Shia leadership…

Iraq has a shia majority it naturally aligns with Iran.
The one thing that prevented that was Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath Nationalist Party.
You reap what you sow.
Happy New Year. https://t.co/tzaf0UNUDj

— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) December 31, 2019

Maliki responded in an interview with Al Sharqiya that he would withdraw only if the Shia-led CF that nominated him asked him to do so, warning that stepping aside under foreign pressure would “set a dangerous precedent and undermine national sovereignty.”

He described US threats to economically strangle Iraq as “pressure tools,” even as the CF affirmed its support for his candidacy despite Washington’s escalating warnings.