Iraq’s parliament on Thursday 15 October approved a batch of previously vacant cabinet posts and three deputy prime ministers, bringing Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government close to completion, Al Jazeera reports. The prime minister took office in May.
Who Was Approved
According to the report, lawmakers approved 11 portfolios, including Nayef al-Shammari as defence minister and Yasir al-Maliki as interior minister, along with ministers for planning, culture, and higher education and scientific research. Three deputy prime ministers were also confirmed, among them Laith al-Khazali. A vote on the nominee for minister of migration and displacement was postponed because of disagreement among the parties, so that post remains unfilled.
Al Jazeera notes that Laith al-Khazali is a senior figure in the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement and the brother of its leader, Qais al-Khazali. It says the United States designated the movement a foreign terrorist organisation in 2020 and named both brothers as specially designated global terrorists, and that the US Treasury sanctioned the brothers in 2019 over the killing of protesters in Iraq. The report does not include a response from Mr al-Khazali or the movement.
Economic Pressures Ahead
Al-Zaidi thanked parliament and urged his deputies and ministers to “fulfil their responsibilities with the highest levels of commitment, competence and integrity”, according to the report. He said the government would speed up its work on the economic and security challenges arising from the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which Al Jazeera says began on 28 February.
The outlet reports that Iraq faces severe liquidity shortages. Before the war, it says, the country exported about 3.5 million barrels of oil a day through the Strait of Hormuz, which provided 90 per cent of government revenue. Al-Zaidi, a former banker, devalued the dinar by almost 15 per cent against the dollar to cover salaries and essential spending, and said his government inherited public debt above 208 trillion dinars, roughly $139bn at the new rate. He said the state needs about 10 trillion dinars, or $6.7bn, each month for salaries and critical spending. His stated priorities include fighting corruption, disarming non-state armed groups and completing the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, Al Jazeera says.
Why It Matters
A nearly complete cabinet gives the prime minister ministers in key posts, notably defence and interior, which are central to the security priorities he has described. The vote also shows the negotiated, party-by-party nature of cabinet-building in Iraq: the unfilled migration post and the presence of a deputy prime minister who, Al Jazeera notes, is under US sanctions both reflect the compromises involved. The harder test is fiscal, since the government says it must cover large monthly obligations while oil export revenue is under strain.
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