After Nouri al-Maliki's nomination.. Rubio warns Iraq about relations with Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday warned Iraq against forming an "Iran-aligned government." Rubio's warning came after the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who left office in 2014 under pressure from the United States, by the Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in the House of Representatives, to assume the premiership again. During a phone call with current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, Rubio expressed his hope that the next Iraqi government would work to make the country "a force for stability, prosperity, and security in the Middle East," according to a statement from the US State Department.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the Secretary stressed that "an Iran-dominated government will not be able to put Iraq's interests first, or keep the country out of regional conflicts, or promote a mutually beneficial partnership between the United States and Iraq."

America and Nouri al-Maliki's governments

In this context, an Iraqi political source reported that the United States informed Baghdad that it "views negatively the previous governments led by Nouri al-Maliki." American lawmakers also stated, in an official letter, that the choice of prime minister is a "sovereign Iraqi decision," but they stressed at the same time that the United States "will make its own sovereign decisions regarding the next government in line with American interests."

Al-Maliki first assumed the premiership in 2006, but Washington later withdrew its support for him. The Iraqi House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a session on Tuesday to elect a president, as the constitution requires the elected president to assign a head of government within 15 days.