This handout photograph taken and released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office on April 28, 2026 shows outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) meeting new prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi at the Government Palace in Baghdad.
Iraqi leaders are expected to begin complex talks on April 28 over forming a government and allocating cabinet portfolios under new prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi.
Five months on from elections, Iraq remains deadlocked in negotiations over a new administration, after U.S. pressure skippered the choice for prime minister of the majority bloc in parliament.
Two-time ex-premier Nouri al-Maliki, who has close ties to Iran, had been endorsed by the bloc but was forced to step back after an ultimatum from U.S. President Donald Trump.
On April 28, Iraq's new President Nizar Amede nominated businessman Zaidi as prime minister-designate, giving him the daunting task of putting a cabinet together in the next 30 days amid fierce political wrangling.
The Coordination Framework, the majority bloc in parliament and an alliance of Shia groups with varying ties to Iran, had backed Maliki but appears to have yielded to the US pressure.
The framework has now endorsed Zaidi and thanked Maliki, a key member of their alliance, for dropping out.
Iraq's state-run INA news agency quoted a framework official late on April 27 as saying the alliance would meet on April 28 with Zaidi to discuss the cabinet.
Seen as a compromise figure, Zaidi, 40, is little known in political circles, and has never held a government post. If he succeeds in forming a government, Zaidi will become Iraq's youngest prime minister at the age of 40.
A businessman and owner of a television channel, he once headed one of the many Iraqi banks that are banned from conducting dollar transactions under U.S. anti-money laundering regulations.
If Zaidi succeeds in forming a government, he will replace Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who until recently enjoyed smooth relations with the U.S.
Sudani's hopes for a second term as prime minister faded after he failed to stop Iran-backed groups from targeting U.S. interests during the Middle East war.
A political source told AFP that the Coordination Framework endorsed Zaidi "after checking" with U.S. representatives.
Zaidi's nomination also emerged 10 days after an Iranian commander visited Iraq and met with political leaders.
