![\"Abadi-400\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Abadi-400.jpg\" "\\"Abadi-400\\"")
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Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proposed a new Cabinet lineup to the country’s lawmakers on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Al-Abadi came before the parliament on Thursday to tell lawmakers that he has reduced the number of Cabinet ministers to 16, from the previous 21-member government, the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n
He submitted the names of nominees for 14 ministerial positions, but said he would not replace the current defense and interior ministers, “given the current hard situation.”<\/p>\n
The parliament now has 10 days to confirm al-Abadi’s nominees \u2014 or potentially gridlock the process.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s developments come against the backdrop of weeks of protests by thousands of followers of the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. His supporters have continued their sit-in outside the Iraqi capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone, following al-Sadr’s calls for political reform and an end to corruption.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, all roads leading to Baghdad\u2019s Green Zone were closed and riot police and security forces were deployed around the area, the AP said.<\/p>\n
Shortly after the parliament session, al-Sadr called on his supporters to end their sit-in, but to continue “peaceful protests in all Iraqi provinces every Friday to put pressure on lawmakers to vote on the new Cabinet.”<\/p>\n
Al-Abadi named Nizar Salem al-Numan as a candidate for the key post of oil minister.<\/p>\n
Al-Abadi also named prominent Shi’ite politician Ali Allawi for the post of finance minister and tagged Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein, a relative of Iraq’s king deposed in 1958, for foreign minister, state TV added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proposed a new Cabinet lineup to the country’s lawmakers on Thursday. Al-Abadi came before the parliament on Thursday to tell lawmakers that he has reduced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":45579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-20100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-a-world","8":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n