Angry Iraqi protesters set fire to image of Trump, flag of USA
Angry Iraqi protesters have set fire to the image of US President Donald Trump and the flag of the United states following a fresh fall out between Washington and the Arab country's main candidate for the premiership.
Protesters on Wednesday staged a protest near the US embassy in Baghdad in support of Nouri al-Maliki.
Protesters chanted "Yes for Maliki" while some burned a poster bearing the image of Trump and an American flag.
The protest came after Trump threatened to end all support to the country if Maliki was re-elected to the post.
Maliki on Wednesday denounced "blatant interference" in Iraqi politics by the United States.
"We categorically reject the blatant American interference in Iraq's internal affairs," said Maliki, the only former Iraqi prime minister to have served two terms since the US-led invasion.
"We consider it a violation" of Iraq's "democratic system," he added in a post on X.
Trump on Tuesday called al-Maliki a "very bad choice" for Iraq's top post.
The US president warned Iraqis that if Maliki is re-elected, Washington will cut its support to Iraq due to what he described as the Iraqi politician's "insane policies and ideologies."
Trump's statement came days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio similar interfering remarks about al-Maliki's return to power in a telephone conversation with outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Trump threatens to cut US support for Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki is chosen as prime minister.
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The warning came after Maliki was endorsed by the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties, to run for the premiership.
The Iraqi parliament was scheduled to elect the prime minister on Tuesday, but the vote was delayed. The president will then task the prime ministerial nominee from the largest bloc with forming a government within 15 days.
Maliki served as Iraq’s prime minister from 2006 to 2014 and as vice president between 2014 and 2015 and again from 2016 to 2018. He currently heads the Islamic Dawa Party political movement.
He is a senior figure in Iraq’s political scene and maintains close ties with various factions, including parties linked to the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) that have opposed foreign interference in the Arab country’s affairs. The PMU was formed in 2014 to fight the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and was later incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces.
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