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Abadi: We Will Not Risk Our People’s Interests to Satisfy Iran

An Iraqi man walks past burning tires as protesters block the main road between the centre of the southern city of Basra leading towards Karmat Ali on its northern outskirts, near the University of Basra on September 2, 2018. Haidar MOHAMMED ALI / AFP
An Iraqi man walks past burning tires as protesters block the main road between the centre of the southern city of Basra leading towards Karmat Ali on its northern outskirts, near the University of Basra on September 2, 2018. Haidar MOHAMMED ALI / AFP
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Abadi: We Will Not Risk Our People’s Interests to Satisfy Iran

An Iraqi man walks past burning tires as protesters block the main road between the centre of the southern city of Basra leading towards Karmat Ali on its northern outskirts, near the University of Basra on September 2, 2018. Haidar MOHAMMED ALI / AFP
An Iraqi man walks past burning tires as protesters block the main road between the centre of the southern city of Basra leading towards Karmat Ali on its northern outskirts, near the University of Basra on September 2, 2018. Haidar MOHAMMED ALI / AFP

Tension between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the Iranian government rose on Sunday amid the announcement of the “biggest bloc” in Iraq ahead of naming the next Premier.

“We will not risk the interests of our people to satisfy Iran or any other country,” Abadi told reporters in Baghdad.

Since the parliamentary elections held last May, Abadi's relations with Iran and its allies in Iraq have been tense.

Last month, Abadi announced his commitment to the financial sanctions imposed by the US on Iran, and last week, he dismissed Falih Alfayyadh, the head of the Popular Mobilization Commission and the Iraqi national security adviser.

Abadi issued the decision after Alfayyadh was seen as a figure suitable to become the next prime minister.

A day after he was fired, some members of Abadi’s Nasr alliance named Alfayyadh as their nominee for the premiership.

“Alfayyadh does not represent the Nasr Coalition. I will sue him if he speaks in the name of the Nasr,” said Abadi.

Meanwhile, the head of the Sairoon bloc Moqtada Al-Sadr has formed the biggest bloc in Iraq’s parliament after months of stalled negotiations.

The announcement came ahead of the first session of the Iraqi parliament on Monday to elect a new Speaker and where the largest bloc must be registered to form the next cabinet.

Sadr’s parliamentary bloc consists of 162 deputies from 11 political groups, mainly from the Sairoon, the Nasr, the Hikma, the Wattiniya and other small blocs.

Meanwhile, protests have resumed in the southern Iraqi province of Basra against local authorities over the lack of basic services.

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Sheinbaum Says She Rejected Trump's Offer to Send Troops to Mexico

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attends her morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attends her morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
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Sheinbaum Says She Rejected Trump's Offer to Send Troops to Mexico

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attends her morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attends her morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump had proposed sending US troops to Mexico to combat drug trafficking, but said she had rejected that offer because "sovereignty is not for sale."
Sheinbaum's comments were in response to questions about a Wall Street Journal report published on May 2 that said Trump was pressuring Mexico to allow deeper US military involvement against drug cartels to combat trafficking across the shared border.
"In one of the calls, (Trump) said, 'How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the US Army come in to help you,'" said Sheinbaum, who was speaking at a university event near the capital on Saturday.
"And you know what I told him? No, President Trump, the territory is sacrosanct, sovereignty is sacrosanct, sovereignty is not for sale, sovereignty is loved and defended," the president said, adding that while the two countries can collaborate, "we will never accept the presence of the United States military in our territory."
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council (NSC) said in response to a Reuters request for comment that Trump had been "crystal clear that Mexico must do more to combat these gangs and cartels and the United States stands ready to assist and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries."
The council spokesperson added that Trump had worked closely with Sheinbaum to achieve the "most secure southwest border in history", however, "dangerous foreign terrorist organizations continue to threaten our shared security and the drugs and crime they spread threaten American communities across the country," the spokesperson said.
The White House did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters whether Trump had raised troop deployments with Sheinbaum.
Trump has said publicly that the US would take unilateral military action if Mexico failed to dismantle drug cartels. The two leaders have had several calls in recent months to discuss security issues, trade and immigration.
Sheinbaum went on to explain that during one of the calls she had asked Trump for help to prevent weapons from entering Mexico from the United States that fuel violence and trafficking.
"We can collaborate, we can work together, but you can do it in your territory, we can do it in ours," Sheinbaum said.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that tension between the two leaders rose towards the end of an April 16 telephone conversation when Trump pushed to have US armed forces take a leading role in tackling Mexican drug gangs that produce and smuggle fentanyl to the US.
In February, the US designated the Sinaloa Cartel and other Mexican drug cartels as global terrorist organizations, which some analysts have warned could be a stepping stone to such military action.
Airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels by the US military has also increased, as part of efforts to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities.
Sheinbaum has since proposed a constitutional reform aimed at adding protections to Mexico's national sovereignty.