Washington renews its support for al-Zaidi’s “vision” despite the controversy surrounding the government formation.
Washington renews its support for al-Zaidi’s “vision” despite the controversy surrounding the government formation.
2026-10-17
Shafaq News – Special Translation
The US administration has reaffirmed its support for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in achieving his vision, despite criticisms regarding the completion of the government formation, particularly concerning the position of deputy prime minister, which was obtained by Asaib Ahl al-Haq, according to Voice of America radio .
The American radio station reported, in a report translated by Shafaq News Agency, that the completion of al-Zaidi’s government formation has revived concerns about the continued influence of Iranian-backed groups, but some political observers believe that these appointments may give al-Zaidi an opportunity to strengthen his authority and gradually bring the armed factions under government control.
Despite these concerns, Voice of America explained that the United States reaffirmed its support for al-Zaidi, stressing the importance of Iraq’s sovereignty and limiting the influence of Iranian-backed armed groups.
The radio station quoted a spokesman for the US State Department as saying that US President Donald Trump, “as he made clear when he hosted Prime Minister al-Zaidi for his historic visit on July 14, strongly supports his vision to ensure a brighter future for all Iraqis.”
The spokesman added that “Washington’s goal remains a sovereign Iraq, capable of preventing attacks launched from its territory and maintaining strong relations with the United States.”
He added that “Iran is an unreliable actor with a long history of using Iraqi militias to steal resources from the Iraqi people and threaten Iraq’s sovereignty,” noting that “American efforts to promote regional stability focus on supporting national sovereignty and economic prosperity.”
The report noted that the discussions regarding the new appointments reflect differing assessments of whether the political forces allied with Iran will strengthen their influence within the Iraqi government, or whether these appointments will give al-Zaydi a wider political space to limit their influence.
The American radio station noted that the House of Representatives approved the new appointments, which included Nayef al-Shammari as Minister of Defense, Yasser al-Maliki as Minister of the Interior, and Laith al-Khazali as Deputy Prime Minister, pointing out that the latter is a prominent leader in Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 2020, and also listed the brothers Laith and Qais al-Khazali on global terrorism lists.
The report was based on a blog post by Republican Representative Joe Wilson, in which he criticized the appointment of Khazali to the government, describing him as “no better than ISIS, and possibly worse.”
Meanwhile, former US diplomat Joey Hood said the Trump administration might be willing to give al-Zaidi more flexibility in dealing with Iranian-backed militias, rather than opposing political arrangements that allow some of their leaders to assume government positions.
According to the report, Hood explained that Trump and his special envoy to Iraq, Tom Barrack, seem to prefer an approach focused on economic partnerships, rather than military operations or direct intervention in political decisions in Baghdad.
He added that “they do not seem to be concerned with the fine-tuning of how the prime minister can gain the upper hand over Iranian-backed militias, unlike some previous US administrations,” noting that Washington may adopt a wait-and-see approach, allowing al-Zaidi to use figures like al-Khazali to control the less cooperative armed factions.
According to the American politician, if al-Zaidi succeeds in employing al-Khazali and others to put pressure on uncooperative groups, “he will have found an Iraqi solution to this problem.”
But Hood warned that the ultimate test of al-Zaidi’s strategy is his ability to prevent Iranian-backed groups from continuing to exploit Iraqis, influence political decisions, and launch attacks against Iraqis and neighboring countries.
According to the report, the expansion of the cabinet, in addition to the controversy over Iranian influence, sparked criticism regarding the creation of new government positions to accommodate competing political forces, at the expense of public finances, which was objected to by MPs before the session convened.
The report quoted Baghdad-based academic and political researcher Ghalib al-Daami as saying that many Iraqis oppose the creation of new ministries and senior government positions, explaining that expectations were instead for merging some ministries and abolishing other institutions, with the aim of simplifying bureaucratic procedures and reducing pressure on the general budget.
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