Iraq’s ruling pro-Iran Coordination Framework appears to be on the verge of collapse after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's government was approved by parliament on Thursday.
The PM submitted an incomplete lineup, but it still earned the vote of confidence. The parliament approved 14 ministers out of 23. Discussions on the remaining vacant portfolios, including notable ones such as interior and defense, have been postponed due to political disputes between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish forces.
Thursday’s vote exposed evident differences in the Framework, which includes major parties, such as former PM Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, with other influential Shiite blocs over sovereign portfolios, especially the interior and higher education ministries, said lawmakers and political sources.
State of Law MP Ibtissam al-Hilali told the media that failure to include a candidate from her bloc in the lineup was an act of "deceit" against political agreements reached before the session.
Meanwhile, the National Contract bloc and the Sumerian Movement announced on Friday that they were quitting former PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's Construction and Development bloc, accusing the political leadership inside the alliance of violating agreements and seeking to marginalize members.
In a joint statement, they said the proceedings at parliament reflected "a violation of political agreements whereby individual interests were placed above national ones."
They said they would form a new parliamentary bloc in a move that would reshape alliances in the legislature.
Later on Friday, MP Ammar Youssef also announced he was leaving Sudani’s bloc but that he would remain in Faleh al-Fayyad's National Contract bloc.
These developments are seen as a realignment of Shiite political forces that are coming under mounting internal and foreign pressure.
Sudani, Zaidi’s predecessor, has slammed his allies in the Framework, saying: "No other government has come under such false accusations and misinformation." He accused "failed leaderships" of mounting these campaigns.
Zaidi, who is backed by the Framework, is Iraq's youngest prime minister at the age of 40. He was chosen to form the new government late last month.
His program includes "reforming the security apparatus by restricting weapons to state control and strengthening the capabilities of the security forces", state news agency INA quoted the parliament media office as saying.
He also vowed to ensure a state monopoly on weapons amid growing US pressure to dismantle Tehran-backed groups.
His nomination followed months of political wrangling after the United States vetoed the previous frontrunner, former premier Maliki.
Senior US diplomat Tom Barrack said his government was ready to work with Zaidi "to advance our shared goals of prosperity for the Iraqi people and the elimination of terrorism, which is always an impediment to the people's progress".
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi congratulated Iraq's new government following the approval from parliament. "Strengthening the friendly and brotherly relations between Tehran and Baghdad has always been at the top of the priorities of our foreign policy," he wrote on X.
The US has recently piled pressure on Baghdad to disarm Iran-backed groups, which it designates as terrorist organizations.
After the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, those groups intervened in support of Tehran and hit US facilities in Iraq more than 600 times before a ceasefire was announced, according to a US official.
Recently, several powerful Iraqi politicians have also called for a state monopoly on weapons, revealing divisions over the sensitive issue.
While some armed groups showed readiness to cooperate, others remain adamant that the issue should not be discussed under US pressure.
Hussein Mounes, the head of a parliamentary bloc close to the Kataib Hezbollah group, criticized the "clear and direct American interference in shaping the political scene".
The new premier faces other daunting tasks.
His government will also need to repair Iraq's relations with Gulf countries, which have protested attacks by Tehran-backed groups on their territory during the war.
His program has also set economic reforms as a main priority, with an emphasis on diversification and investment, in a country where almost the entire economy relies on oil.
Iraq has lost significant income due to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, given that oil exports make up about 90 percent of the country's budget revenues.
