American officials say US is merely supporting constitutional process in offering full backing in selection of new prime minister

American officials have denied participating in a plot to oust Iraq prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, despite a series of phone calls made by Barack Obama and Joe Biden to support the appointment of his successor.

Obama welcomed the selection of a new prime minister by Iraq’s president Faud Massoum on Monday, describing it as a “promising step forward” toward a more inclusive government.

“Under the Iraqi constitution this is an important step toward forming a new government that can unite Iraq’s different communities,” said the US president in a statement from his vacation home on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

The Obama administration had become increasingly strident in its criticism of Maliki in recent weeks, accusing him of the current Islamic uprising by failing to govern in the interest of all Iraqis.

But officials rejected allegations on Monday that it was encouraging “regime change”, insisting instead that the US was merely supporting a constitutional process rather than favouring individual politicians in Baghdad.

“The US stands ready to support a government that addresses the needs and grievances of all Iraqi people,” added Obama, in a short address which did not mention al-Maliki by name.

He also dangled the prospect of direct US military support against the Islamic State, the separatists also known as Isis or Isil, if the putative new prime minister Haider al-Abadi succeeds in forming a lasting government. “Just as the US will remain vigilant against the threat posed to our people by Isil we stand ready to partner with Iraq in its fight against these terrorist forces,” Obama said.

US vice-president Joe Biden immediately telephoned president Massoum and Haider al-Abadi, whom the White House described as “prime minister designate”, to offer greater US military support in their efforts to defeat Isis.

Secretary of state John Kerry said a new government was “critical in terms of sustaining the stability and calm in Iraq,” urging Maliki not to “stir those waters” by obstructing Abadi’s efforts to form a new coalition government in the coming days.

The Daily Beast alleged on Monday that two senior US officials, the American ambassador to Iraq Robert Beecroft and deputy assistant secretary of state Brett McGurk, have been working to shore up Abadi behind the scenes for the past month.

It said that Obama had “instructed his diplomats in Washington and Baghdad to find an alternative” to Maliki. Obama has repeatedly stated in public that the US should not influence the choice for Iraq’s prime minister. “It’s not the place for the United States to choose Iraq’s leaders,” Obama said on 19 June.

Apparently stung by suggestions this might be another case of attempted US-led regime change in Baghdad, the State Department denied there had been any role, at any level by American officials in helping pick the new candidate.



“We support the process,” spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters. “We have never supported anyone person or one party here.”

Asked about Monday’s phone calls by Biden, who also rang Massoum and Kurdish leaders last week but not Maliki, Harf added: “It’s not about who we speak to on the phone; it’s about who the Iraqis choose through their process, which they have done today, to be their next prime minister.”

A US decision to arm Kurdish fighters directly, confirmed earlier on Monday, is likely to have heaped extra pressure on Maliki’s government in Baghdad and Harf ducked repeated questions about whether the US has sought explicit Iraqi support for the shipment.

But the precarious situation in Baghdad was underlined by reports that Maliki had increased security forces on the streets and may be resisting efforts to oust him.



“He is still the prime minister, legally and under the constitution,” said Harf, when asked whether the US considered he still had political legitimacy.

Earlier Kerry said the US stands “absolutely squarely behind President Massoum”, but urged restraint amid reports that Maliki may resist what he called a coup against his government.

“What we urge the people of Iraq to do is to be calm,” Kerry said. “There should be no use force, no introduction of troops or militias into this moment of democracy for Iraq.”

Biden’s involvement was his fourth diplomatic intervention in as many days indicating that further American military support could follow swiftly if Abadi and Massoum succeed in their efforts to form a new government.

Pointedly referring to Abadi as the Iraqi prime minister-designate, a White House spokesman said: “The vice-president relayed President Obama’s congratulations and restated his commitment to fully support a new and inclusive Iraqi government, particularly in its fight against Isil.”

Former US officials in Washington also cautioned that the appointment of Abadi by president Massoum, though supported by White House, was not yet a definitive sign of the more inclusive Iraqi government that Obama has been calling for.

“The prime minister still has to be able to form a government, so I am not sure it is really game over,” said Jon Alterman, Middle East program director at the Center for Srategic and International Studies. “Nouri al-Maliki is a hard-knuckled veteran of all of this and he is not afraid to roll the dice ... he is willing to take risks.”