DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Choice of al-Zaidi breaks a months-long deadlock after US President Trump opposed appointment of pro-Iran former PM al-Maliki. Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 Iraq’s President Nizar Amedi has named Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a government, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Iraq has reported. Al-Zaidi was named earlier on Monday as the candidate of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties that has a majority in parliament. His nomination sees him promoted over a pro-Iranian rival. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “After considering the names of the candidates, Ali al-Zaidi was chosen to be the candidate of the Coordination Framework bloc, as the largest bloc in the House of Representatives, to occupy the position of prime minister and form the next government,” a Coordination Framework statement read after a meeting in Baghdad. The selection of al-Zaidi breaks a months-long deadlock in which United States President Donald Trump had intervened, after former two-time Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had emerged as the coalition’s initial …