The Shia Coordination Committee recently reached a near-agreement to nominate Nouri al-Maliki for a third term as Prime Minister.

Shiite forces within Iraq’s ruling Coordination Framework have reached an impasse over selecting a new PM, with both Nouri al-Maliki and current PM Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani firmly backing their own bids.

As Iraq weighs a new prime minister, attention has shifted to the Shiite Coordination Framework, where Ali al-Shukry is emerging as a leading compromise candidate for the top post.

In a fresh escalation on Iraq’s crowded political stage, Iran-linked militias have launched a fierce campaign against the U.S. president’s envoy to Baghdad, Mark Savaya, going as far as issuing direct threats.

In a move that sent political shockwaves through Iraq, the Official Gazette published a decision listing Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi group as terrorist organizations, a step the Iraqi central bank later walked back, calling it an “unintentional mistake.”