U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Shi'ite alliance's candidate for premier, on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reacts at a polling station inside Al-Rasheed Hotel during the parliamentary election in Baghdad, Iraq, November 11, 2025. Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Shi'ite alliance's candidate for premier, on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Maliki has been nominated by a powerful Shi'ite bloc to return to the post, but the United States has said it will reconsider its support for Iraq if he is chosen again.
Maliki's media office said Barrack and Maliki discussed developments in Iraq's political landscape and upcoming national priorities.
The statement said Maliki stressed the importance of supporting the democratic process and strengthening political stability, underscoring the need to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and the choices of its people.
Reporting by Muayed Hameed
Negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Islamabad later this week, five sources said on Tuesday, days after the highest-level talks between the two countries in decades ended without a breakthrough.
The deadline passed on Monday for the start of a U.S. military blockade of ships leaving Iran's ports, and Tehran threatened to retaliate against ports of its Gulf neighbours after weekend talks on ending the war broke down.
Israeli troops launched an attack on Monday to seize a key town in south Lebanon from Hezbollah fighters holed up there, pressing the war on the Iran-backed group on the eve of rare talks between Israeli and Lebanese government envoys.
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