Maliki Office Denies Reports of Agreement to Relinquish Iraq’s Interior Ministry
State of Law Coalition says claims about Nouri al-Maliki stepping aside from Interior Ministry are baseless as coalition submits nominees for key ministerial posts
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The media office of Nouri al-Maliki, head of Iraq’s State of Law Coalition, on Saturday denied reports that a political agreement had been reached for Maliki to relinquish the position of interior minister.
Hisham al-Rukabi, director of Maliki’s media office, issued a statement on X responding to reports by several media outlets concerning an alleged political agreement over changes to Iraq’s security posts.
“The information published by some media outlets regarding the existence of an understanding or agreement on Nouri al-Maliki relinquishing the position of Minister of Interior has no basis in truth,” al-Rukabi said.
He stressed that the issue had not been discussed in the first place, dismissing reports circulating in the media as unsupported by accurate or reliable information.
“We reaffirm that this matter has not been raised at all, and all the reports being circulated by the media in this regard are not based on any correct or genuine information,” al-Rukabi said.
State of Law Submits Ministerial Nominees
The denial comes as Iraq’s State of Law Coalition has submitted the names of its nominees for the ministries of Interior and Higher Education to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, according to lawmaker Othman al-Shaibani.
Al-Shaibani said Saturday that the coalition had sent its nominees to the prime minister in preparation for resolving the selection of the two ministers in the coming days.
The move comes amid ongoing political discussions over the distribution of ministerial portfolios and senior government positions among Iraq’s political blocs.
The Interior Ministry is considered one of Iraq’s most important sovereign and security portfolios, and its leadership has frequently become the subject of political negotiations and media speculation during government formation and cabinet reshuffles.
Within the Shiite Coordination Framework and among other political forces, competing reports have continued to emerge over potential candidates and the political shares of major factions in key ministries, including the Interior Ministry.
Maliki’s office, however, denied reports of an agreement for the State of Law Coalition to give up its claim to the Interior Ministry, dismissing the reports as unfounded.