Iraqi lawmakers approved the remaining vacant cabinet posts and three deputy prime ministers on Thursday. The vote completed the government of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Baghdad.
Parliament voted on 11 portfolios during the session. Lawmakers approved Nayef al-Shammari as defence minister and Yasir al-Maliki as interior minister, while also filling the planning, culture, and higher education and scientific research posts. A vote on the nominee for migration and displacement was postponed due to disagreements among political parties.
Parliament approved three deputy prime ministers. One of them is Laith al-Khazali, a senior leader of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement and the brother of the group’s leader, Qais al-Khazali.
The United States designated Asaib Ahl al-Haq as a foreign terrorist organisation in 2020. Washington named both brothers as specially designated global terrorists, citing a 2007 attack that killed five US soldiers. The US Treasury Department sanctioned the brothers in 2019 over the killing of protesters in Iraq.
Al-Zaidi released a statement after the vote thanking parliament. He called on his deputy prime ministers and ministers to fulfil their responsibilities with commitment, competence and integrity.
Al-Zaidi said the government was embarking on a phase of diligent work. He stated that the administration must address economic and security challenges imposed by the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.
Iraq is facing severe liquidity shortages from the conflict. Before the war, the country exported roughly 3.5 million barrels of oil per day through the Strait of Hormuz, generating 90 percent of government revenue.
Al-Zaidi stated that the war has imposed extraordinary economic challenges on Iraq. To cover essential public spending and government salaries, the prime minister devalued the dinar by almost 15 percent against the US dollar.
Al-Zaidi stated that his administration inherited public debt exceeding 208 trillion Iraqi dinars when it took office in May. The state needs about 10 trillion dinars monthly to cover salaries and critical spending.
Al-Zaidi vowed to fight corruption, disarm non-state armed groups and strengthen sovereignty by completing the withdrawal of US forces from the country.
