An “American veto” over ministers and factions obstructing al-Sudani’s path to Washington

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[size=52]An “American veto” over ministers and factions obstructing al-Sudani’s path to Washington[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Standing in the way of Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani's trip to Washington are ministers and factions participating in the government, which are rejected by the United States.[/size]
[size=45]It may be difficult to get rid of these obstacles, especially since a Shiite official asserts that the parties will not allow the change of any minister.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the coordinating framework that strongly defends that visit - which is a rare shift in its declared rhetoric against Washington - finds itself forced to harmonize with American conditions.[/size]
[size=45]The "framework" feels the danger of the street turning against it because of the dollar crisis, and another crisis that may worsen in the summer related to energy supply.[/size]
[size=45]Therefore, a Shiite official in the coordination framework says in an interview with Al-Mada that all coalition forces are "convinced of the importance of the prime minister's visit to Washington, even those that reject the presence of combat forces."[/size]
[size=45]And the “framework” began to gradually retreat from the escalation during the previous government of Mustafa Al-Kazemi, against the American presence.[/size]
[size=45]The day before yesterday, Nuri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law, said in a televised interview: "There are currently no foreign military forces in Iraq with armored vehicles and combat equipment."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The presence of foreign advisory and training forces that benefit Iraq is something agreed upon, and the presence of foreign military combat forces is a very dangerous matter."[/size]
[size=45]For the past two years, Shiite parties have attacked the former prime minister because of accusations against him that he is concealing information about the American presence and its missions.[/size]
[size=45]And during the previous government's announcement of the end of the combat missions of the US forces at the end of 2021, the leader of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Hadi al-Amiri, refused at the time, "the Americans will remain, even if they are in the capacity of advisors and trainers."[/size]
[size=45]Before talking about the reasons for the decline of the Shiite discourse, the official in the "framework", who is a former minister, says: "So far, there has been no claim for Al-Sudani to visit Washington."[/size]
[size=45]The Shiite official believes that this is because "the presence of ministers and joint factions in the government over them a veto from the United States."[/size]
[size=45]Of course, according to what the official says, "the rejected ministers cannot be eliminated even with the prime minister announcing that his cabinet and the administrative apparatus are under evaluation."[/size]
[size=45]And the former minister adds: "If the Sudanese wanted to change ministers, he could change the three ministers he chose himself. The parties will not accept changing their ministers except with their will."[/size]
[size=45]And it was leaked during the formation of the government more than two months ago, that the Sudanese chose the ministers of finance, electricity, and health, while the parties shared the remaining 20 ministries.[/size]
[size=45]Before the end of last year, the prime minister gave ministers and other officials 3 to 6 months to evaluate their performance.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the coordination framework’s retreat from its previous positions can be explained by the continued escalation of dollar exchange rates and the difficulty of obtaining Iranian gas to operate power stations.[/size]
[size=45]An informed politician says in an interview with (Al-Mada) that "the coordination framework is facing crises regarding dollar prices and supplying Iranian gas to operate power plants, in addition to internal disputes."[/size]
[size=45]The Shiite alliance is trying, according to what the well-informed politician, who asked not to be named, is trying to "convince the United States to ease pressure on Iraqi banks to give freedom in the circulation of the dollar."[/size]
[size=45]Washington has imposed strict restrictions for more than a month on foreign transfers of hard currency, as it is estimated that between 100 and 250 million dollars are smuggled per week, most of which go to Iran.[/size]
[size=45]In a rare confession of a Shiite leader, Nuri al-Maliki said in the recent television interview that "there is no solution to the dollar crisis except by controlling the movement of banks and remittances and controlling the dollar from smuggling to neighboring countries."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki added, "The government must reach a stage of control that does not allow the movement of the dollar outside the approved contexts, and to go to the Americans and agree with them."[/size]
[size=45]The prime minister recently started what observers considered a prelude to his visit to Washington, following statements by al-Sudani about the importance of Western advisors remaining, and commenting on describing the Gulf as the "Arabian Gulf."[/size]
[size=45]The phrase "Arabian Gulf" had sparked a diplomatic crisis between Baghdad and Tehran, which summoned the Iraqi ambassador to Iran, objecting to not naming the "Persian Gulf."[/size]
[size=45]Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist movement, intervened in the crisis when he repeated more than once the word "Arabian Gulf" on the sidelines of the Gulf Cup championship, which just concluded in Basra.[/size]
[size=45]During Al-Sadr's reception on Saturday evening, members of the Iraqi football team, which won the title in the tournament, the leader of the movement renamed the tournament the "Arabian Gulf Cup".[/size]
[size=45]The team dedicated the Gulf Cup to the leader of the movement, while platforms close to the movement named the "Gulf Champion" on Al-Sadr.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sadr was received by Asaad Al-Eidani, who accompanied the members of the national team. He is the governor of Basra and the leader of the Tasmeem coalition that participates in the government. He is the first politician to meet the leader of the movement after his retirement last June.[/size]
[size=45]Hassan Al-Athari, head of Al-Sadr's bloc in Parliament before she resigned last summer, previously hinted at the possibility of his bloc returning to political action.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Athari said in a small video clip that was widely circulated: “Congratulations for the victory, and God willing, we will return and take it as the national team took it.”[/size]
[size=45]Returning to the possibility of changing part of the cabinet, a member of the Badr Organization, one of the most prominent pillars of the coordination framework, confirms that some Shiite forces have given al-Sudani complete freedom to make amendments.[/size]
[size=45]A member of the organization, Mahmoud al-Hayani, said in an interview with (Al-Mada): “Certainly the prime minister will change officials and ministers, and this is subject to assessments.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hayani revealed that the leader of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Amiri, literally said to al-Sudani: "We support you in making changes in the government, and start with us first, provided that everyone is included in the evaluation and changes."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hayani criticized the performance of some ministers without naming one of them, and said that "some ministries are reviewing their work," calling on the government to take more measures to control dollar prices.[/size]
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