WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to end U.S. support for Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki, a former prime minister with ties to Iran, returns to his post.
Trump, in his latest blatant intervention in another country’s politics, said Iraq would make a “very bad choice” with Maliki.
“The last time Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and total chaos. This should not be allowed to happen again,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq,” he said.
“If we are not there to help, Iraq has no chance of success, prosperity or freedom. LET’S MAKE IRAQ GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.
Maliki left power in 2014 under pressure from the United States, which blamed his openly sectarian agenda for giving rise to the Islamic State extremist group.
The United States has key leverage over Iraq because the country’s oil export revenues are largely held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, under a deal struck after the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
