Iraqi parliament approves Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister after months of deadlock

# Iraqi parliament approves Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister after months of deadlock

The Iraqi parliament approved the cabinet of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on 2026-05-14, ending months of political stagnation after the November elections, according to sourceId 12564. Zaidi took the constitutional oath after lawmakers backed his government in Baghdad.

The vote matters because Iraq had been stuck in prolonged negotiations over who would lead the next government. According to the source, the post-election parliament was supposed to elect a president by late January, but internal disputes delayed the process until April. Only after that did President Nizar Amedi designate Zaidi to form a government.

Zaidi arrives in office as a businessman with limited political experience, but one who has managed to win backing from both the United States and Iran. That combination is unusual in Iraqi politics and helps explain why his selection is being watched closely in Baghdad and abroad.

The approved cabinet included several familiar names. Fuad Hussein remained foreign minister, Basim Mohammed Khudair was named oil minister, Khalid Shawani stayed on as justice minister, and Muthanna Ali Mahdi al-Tamimi of the Iran-backed Badr Organization became minister of water resources, according to the source. Lawmakers had not agreed on a number of positions, including the interior ministry, which indicates the cabinet approval was significant but incomplete.

Zaidi told parliament his priorities include development, economic diversification, strengthening the security forces and ensuring that all weapons are held “in the hand of the state.” That phrase points to one of Iraq’s recurring governing challenges: how to reduce the power of armed groups while preserving political balance among competing blocs.

The new prime minister’s support base is itself a product of Iraq’s fragmented politics. The source says he was nominated by the Coordination Framework, the alliance of Shiite parties that forms the largest bloc in parliament. He also has support from figures such as former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The international reaction was immediate. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi congratulated Zaidi and said Iraq is at the top of Iran’s foreign policy priorities. Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, also congratulated him and said Washington was encouraged by the new leadership. That dual endorsement reflects the balancing act Zaidi will inherit.

His government is expected to face pressure over Iran-backed militias and the future of the Popular Mobilization Units. The source says the United States wants Baghdad to disarm and integrate those groups formally into the state, while sanctions and rewards for militia commanders remain on the table. Those pressures make the new cabinet more than a domestic political event; they shape Iraq’s security and foreign policy trajectory.

For now, the key fact is the end of the deadlock. After months of delay, parliament finally approved a cabinet and installed a new prime minister. Whether Zaidi can govern effectively will depend on how he manages the same forces that made his appointment necessary in the first place: coalition politics, militia influence, foreign pressure and the demand for basic state capacity.