CHANNEL8
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi convened a high-level political meeting with Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, on Saturday to evaluate ongoing political, economic, and administrative priorities.
Read more: https://channel8.com/english/subject/politics/iraq
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🇮🇶 IRAQ: AL-ZAIDI NEGOTIATES WITH THE POLITICAL CORE LINKED TO IRAN
📌 THE NEWS
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi held a high-level political meeting on Saturday with Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, to discuss Iraq’s ongoing political, economic, and administrative priorities.
According to the report, the two discussed completing the formation of the government, economic and administrative reforms, the fight against corruption, and accelerating government development projects.
At first glance, this may look like a routine political meeting.
But in Iraq, the political context makes this meeting far more significant. ⚠️
🇮🇶 WHO IS NOURI AL-MALIKI WITHIN THE IRAQI SYSTEM?
Nouri al-Maliki is not currently the prime minister and does not formally control the Iraqi government.
However, he remains one of the most important figures within Iraq’s Shiite political establishment.
His State of Law Coalition is part of the Coordination Framework, the major Shiite political alliance that played a decisive role in bringing Al-Zaidi to the premiership.
And this is the first key point:
👉 Al-Zaidi came to power through a political system in which Maliki and other Coordination Framework forces hold substantial political influence.
Therefore, when the prime minister sits down with Maliki to discuss the formation of the government and its priorities, this is not simply a meeting between two politicians.
It is a negotiation within the same political ecosystem that made Al-Zaidi’s premiership possible.
🇮🇷 THE IRANIAN SHADOW
There is an important distinction to make.
Saying that “Maliki is Iran” would be an oversimplification.
Maliki has his own political interests, ambitions, networks, and rivalries inside Iraq.
But neither can we ignore his close relationship with Iran’s regional influence network.
The Coordination Framework includes political forces with strong ties to Tehran and connections to armed groups backed by Iran.
Therefore, it is reasonable to describe Maliki as one of the major political channels through which Iranian influence operates inside Iraq, without claiming that he simply receives direct orders from Tehran.
And this changes the meaning of the meeting.
🇮🇶🤝🇮🇷 AL-ZAIDI NEEDS TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT HIM TO POWER
This may be the most important part.
Al-Zaidi did not initially emerge as the candidate that everyone wanted.
The Coordination Framework had attempted to promote Maliki as prime minister.
Maliki’s candidacy faced strong U.S. opposition because of his close relationship with the Iranian political network.
Eventually, Al-Zaidi emerged as a compromise candidate.
In other words:
❌ Maliki did not return to the premiership.
✅ Al-Zaidi became prime minister.
But...
⚠️ The political structure that supported Maliki remained crucial to sustaining the new government.
That is why Al-Zaidi must maintain a very delicate balance.
🇺🇸 WASHINGTON ALSO HOLDS A POWERFUL LEVER
Iran is not the only external power with influence in Iraq.
The United States retains an extraordinarily powerful tool: the international financial system and Iraq’s access to U.S. dollars.
Iraq depends heavily on oil revenues and international financial networks.
Washington can exert pressure on banks, financial transfers, and networks connected to Iran.
So Iraq faces a strategic paradox:
🇮🇷 Iran has enormous influence over political factions, militias, and economic networks inside Iraq.
🇺🇸 The United States retains significant financial, diplomatic, and strategic leverage.
🇮🇶 And Al-Zaidi has to govern between both.
🪖 THE MOST DANGEROUS ISSUE: THE MILITIAS
This may be the real battle.
Al-Zaidi’s agenda includes strengthening the Iraqi state and bringing weapons under government control.
That directly affects armed organizations connected to the pro-Iranian political ecosystem.
Al-Zaidi has argued that, following the withdrawal of foreign forces, there is no longer a justification for “resistance” forces to remain armed outside state control.
That may sound like an administrative statement.
It is actually a question of power.
Because:
If the state controls the weapons → the prime minister gains power.
If militias retain independent arsenals → the state continues to share sovereignty with armed actors.
And that is where the real confrontation lies.
⚠️ Attempting to disarm these groups by force could trigger an internal conflict.
But failing to do so means accepting that the Iraqi state does not possess a complete monopoly over the use of force.
🇮🇶 AL-ZAIDI DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE SIMPLY “IRAN’S MAN”
This point deserves serious attention.
Al-Zaidi came to power through a Shiite political system heavily influenced by the Coordination Framework.
But that does not necessarily mean that he will simply implement an agenda designed in Tehran.
In fact, some of his positions could eventually clash with Iranian interests.
If Al-Zaidi succeeds in:
🔹 strengthening state institutions
🔹 bringing militia weapons under state control
🔹 reducing the autonomy of armed factions
🔹 gaining greater control over government ministries
🔹 strengthening the Iraqi security forces
🔹 diversifying the economy
🔹 reducing corruption
🔹 maintaining relations with Washington and Arab states
then Al-Zaidi could be building something Iran does not necessarily want:
🇮🇶 A MORE AUTONOMOUS IRAQI STATE.
🌍 SAUDI ARABIA AND THE ARAB WORLD ALSO MATTER
Al-Zaidi has also sought to maintain relations with the Arab Gulf states.
He has reassured Saudi Arabia that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to attack other states.
That matters because it shows Baghdad is attempting to avoid becoming simply a military platform for regional confrontation.
Iraq is trying to keep several doors open:
🇮🇷 Iran
🇺🇸 United States
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
🇮🇶 and, above all, its own national interests.
⚖️ AL-ZAIDI’S REAL PROBLEM
The question is not simply whether Al-Zaidi is “with Iran” or “with the United States.”
The reality is much more complicated.
His challenge is surviving politically within a system containing multiple centers of power:
🇮🇷 IRAN: political, economic, religious, and military influence.
🇮🇶 THE COORDINATION FRAMEWORK: parliamentary support and the political structure sustaining the government.
👤 MALIKI: one of the major figures in Iraq’s Shiite establishment and an important political channel for pro-Iranian influence.
🪖 THE MILITIAS: armed power capable of limiting state authority.
🇺🇸 THE UNITED STATES: enormous financial, diplomatic, and strategic leverage.
🇸🇦 SAUDI ARABIA AND THE GULF: an Arab regional counterweight.
And at the center of all of this:
🇮🇶 ALI FALEH AL-ZAIDI.
His challenge is to transform the office of prime minister into real state power.
🔥 THAT IS WHY THIS MEETING WITH MALIKI IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT LOOKS
We cannot say:
❌ “Al-Zaidi met with Iran.”
There is no evidence that Iranian officials were present at this meeting.
But neither should we interpret the meeting as merely an administrative conversation.
The reality is:
👉 Al-Zaidi is negotiating with one of the most important figures in Iraq’s Shiite political establishment.
👉 That establishment has strong links to Iran.
👉 That same political system was essential to bringing Al-Zaidi to power.
👉 And now Al-Zaidi is attempting to strengthen the state against armed structures that are themselves part of that broader political ecosystem.
That balance will be extremely difficult.
🇮🇶 THE BATTLE FOR IRAQ IN 2026
The real battle is not simply:
🇮🇷 IRAN VS 🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
It is deeper:
WHO WILL ULTIMATELY CONTROL THE IRAQI STATE?
The prime minister?
Parliament?
The political parties?
The militias?
Iran?
The United States?
Or some combination of all of them?
💥 If Al-Zaidi manages to control the ministries + the budget + the security forces + the weapons, Iraq could move toward greater strategic autonomy.
⚠️ If he fails, he could become another prime minister forced to administer a system in which real power remains divided among political parties, militias, Iran, and other external actors.
🇮🇶 THE AL-ZAIDI–MALIKI MEETING, THEREFORE, IS NOT SIMPLY ANOTHER POLITICAL MEETING.
It is a snapshot of the complex balance of power that still exists inside Iraq.
And the coming months could be decisive.
The most important things to watch are:
🔴 WHO GETS THE REMAINING MINISTRIES?
🔴 WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WEAPONS OF THE MILITIAS?
🔴 HOW MUCH INFLUENCE DOES MALIKI RETAIN OVER THE GOVERNMENT?
🔴 DOES AL-ZAIDI STRENGTHEN THE IRAQI STATE OR REMAIN DEPENDENT ON THE POLITICAL FACTIONS THAT BROUGHT HIM TO POWER?
🔴 HOW FAR WILL IRAN TOLERATE AN IRAQI GOVERNMENT SEEKING GREATER CONTROL OVER ITS OWN SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY?
🔴 HOW MUCH FINANCIAL PRESSURE WILL WASHINGTON BE WILLING TO APPLY?
Because ultimately, the struggle is not simply about choosing between Tehran and Washington.
🇮🇶 IT IS ABOUT WHETHER IRAQ CAN BECOME A STATE WHOSE GOVERNMENT ACTUALLY CONTROLS THE COUNTRY.
That is the real strategic question behind the Al-Zaidi–Maliki meeting.
And that is why this seemingly routine political meeting deserves much closer attention.
🔥 Iraq is not merely a battlefield between Iran and the United States.
🇮🇶 It is also a struggle over who gets to define the Iraqi state itself.
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