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Iraq's president picks Ali al-Zaidi as PM-designate after deadlock
April 28, 2026
Posted 2 hours ago by
Iraq’s President Nizar Amedi has named Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a government. Al-Zaidi was named earlier on Monday as the candidate of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties that has a majority in parliament. His nomination sees him promoted over a pro-Iranian rival. The selection of al-Zaidi breaks a months-long deadlock in which United States President Donald Trump had intervened, after former two-time Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had emerged as the coalition’s initial candidate.
Al-Maliki, who is close to Iran, was fiercely opposed by Trump. The US president warned that all support to Iraq would stop if he became prime minister. However, the Coordination Framework said that al-Maliki and outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had withdrawn their candidacies. Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed reports from Baghdad. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://X.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.news/AJEMobile #Iraq #IraqPresident #NizarAmedi #IraqPrimeMinister #AliAlZaidi #NouriAlMaliki #Iraq #IraqPolitics #IraqElections #ShiaCoordinationFramework #DonaldTrump #MohammedShiaAlSudani #AlJazeeraEnglish
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