U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw U.S. support from Iraq if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is reinstated to the post.

“Because of (Al-Maliki’s) insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq.

“If we are not there to help, Iraq has zero chance of success, prosperity, or freedom,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“Last time Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again,” Mr Trump said.

He added that Iraq would be making “a very bad choice by reinstalling Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister.”

Around two and a half months after parliamentary elections in Iraq, the ruling Shiite alliance nominated Mr Al-Maliki as its candidate for the office of prime minister a week ago.

Iraq’s parliament was supposed to elect a new president on Tuesday, who would then nominate the prime minister.

However, according to media reports, the presidential election was postponed due to disagreements over the candidate.

Mr Al-Maliki, 75, was head of government in Iraq from 2006 to 2014 after the fall of long-time dictator Saddam Hussein.

Critics, including representatives of the U.S. leadership, have accused him, among other things, of being responsible for the success of the extremist militia organisation Islamic State due to poor governance.

Many in Iraq consider him one of the country’s most corrupt politicians.

Mr Al-Maliki and his Shiite party alliance have close ties to neighbouring Iran.

More than 20 years after the U.S. invasion and the overthrow of Mr Hussein, and years of terrorist rule by the Islamic State in parts of the country, stability in Iraq remains fragile.

Both the U.S. and Iran are trying to assert their influence in the country.

Given the tensions between different ethnic and religious groups, corruption and ongoing violence, many people’s distrust of politics runs deep.

(dpa/NAN)