Divisions among Shiites over appointment of Adnan al-Zurufi to lead Iraqi government

Eslam Mohamed

The divisions among Iraqi Shiites over the appointment of new Prime Minister-designate Adnan al-Zurufi came to reflect the new political balances within Iraq following the recent events that have hit Iran’s neighbor.

Tehran has been increasingly exercising its influence in Iraq since the US invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. But after the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and a number of Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) leaders on January 3, as well as the outbreak of the new corona virus in Iranian cities that led to most parts of the country collapsing, political developments in Baghdad no longer appear to be a priority for the mullah regime.

Recently, the Iranian regime has been facing challenges greater than its ability to confront them, and its arms in Iraq and other Arab countries have become a burden requiring much effort. This was clearly reflected during the process of nominating the new Iraqi prime minister. Despite having secured a majority –through Shiite support – that would allow him to receive the confidence of the parliament, many Shiite voices threatened to reject his nomination because of his relationship with the Americans.

Zurufi had lived in the United States for a long time and acquired American citizenship. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he became a member of the Pentagon-funded Iraq Reconstruction and Development Council (IRDC). He was then appointed governor of Najaf in 2004 by Paul Bremer, the American Provisional Coalition Administrator of Iraq at the time.

The differences among the Shiites are not just limited to the positions of the various currents, but internal divisions are even occurring within these blocs. For example, the Fatah Alliance, which is close to Iran and led by militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, declared its rejection of Zurufi, considering his nomination to be unconstitutional.

However, it was reported that Amiri himself informed Iraqi President Barham Salih of his approval of Zurufi, while some other members of the bloc also said they would not stand against him, despite this position violating their alliance’s position.

Meanwhile, the State of Law Coalition headed by former Prime Minsiter Nouri al-Maliki was one of Zurufi’s most prominent supporters, despite Maliki having formerly been Iran’s man in Iraq.

However, parliament members from the Iranian-backed Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia threatened that they would upset the situation if Zurufi came to power, described his nomination as “a betrayal of the blood of the martyrs”, in reference to Iranians in Iraq who were killed during recent confrontations.

Following the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, there has been a constitutional custom of shared power between the three Iraqi components, namely Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Barham Salih, a Kurd, currently holds the presidency, while Mohammed al-Halbousi, a pro-Iran Sunni, has assumed the parliament speakership. Now, Zurufi, a Shiite, comes to occupy the most important position – prime minister – with support of parliamentary blocs of all three components.