BAGHDAD, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday rebuffed the "blatant U.S. interference" in Iraq's internal affairs, describing it as "a violation of Iraqi sovereignty," after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that America would "no longer help Iraq" if al-Maliki returns to power.
"We consider it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, a breach of the democratic system established in Iraq after 2003, and an infringement upon the decision of the Coordination Framework (CF) for selecting its candidate for the premiership," al-Maliki wrote on his official X account.
Iraq's CF, an umbrella alliance of Shiite parties and the largest parliamentary bloc, announced Saturday the official nomination of al-Maliki for a third term to head the country's next government.
Due to al-Maliki's policies and ideologies, "if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq," Trump wrote Tuesday on his Truth Social platform.
Writing on X, Al-Maliki stressed that dialogue between nations is the only viable political option and resorting to dictates and threats is "unacceptable."
"Out of respect for the national will and the decision of the CF, which is guaranteed by the Iraqi Constitution, I will continue working until we reach a conclusion that serves the best interests of the Iraqi people," he wrote.
Al-Maliki, born in 1950, is the leader of the State of Law Coalition and previously served two terms as Iraq's prime minister from 2006 to 2014.
Under Iraq's post-2003 ethno-sectarian power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Kurd, the speaker's post for a Sunni Muslim, and the prime minister's office for a Shiite Muslim. ■
