Nine out of twelve.

That's how many leaders inside Iraq's Coordination Framework have now agreed to drop Nouri al-Maliki's bid for prime minister. He's been notified directly. The CF is preparing a formal statement.

For anyone who's been watching this political logjam since November's election, that number matters more than anything coming out of the war coverage right now.

Here's why.

We've said it before and we'll say it again..
Maliki wasn't just a candidate. He was the last structural blockage between Iraq and a fully formed, reform-friendly government.

His ties to Iran's militia networks, to the PMF funding corridors, to the shadow dollar flows that kept Tehran's sanctions evasion running through Iraqi banks for years.

All of that influence sat in one chair. And nine voices just pulled it out from under him. (Just like we predicted weeks ago)

The CF is now leaning hard toward Sudani continuity.
No surprises there..

Meetings are being scheduled as early as this Sunday. The Kurdish bloc is ready to move on the presidency. Fuad Hussein and one other candidate are being floated.

Once that vote happens, they can simultaneously seat the prime minister.
And it could happen before Eid ends on the 20th.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Taif Sammy met with a World Bank delegation today.
Not a courtesy call. Active discussions on new financing packages, expanded cooperation, private sector empowerment.
Heavy signal flow right there.

She used language like "attractive investment environment for global companies."
Not at 1300-1310...

The World Bank responded with concrete talks on scaling up IFC support, including new advisory offices in Baghdad.

That's not the language of a country waiting. That's the language of a country positioning.

The CBI announced an auction liquidity management program specifically designed to reinforce dinar stability.

Foreign currency reserves continue building. Basel III compliance confirmed. And the Bank of International Settlements is publicly targeting reduced cross-border payment costs by 2027.

Iraq is inside that framework now.

On the ground, citizens are pulling cash from banks in volume.

The budget jumped from 87 trillion to 101 trillion and credit usage exceeded cash last year.

Some bank branches are asking customers to come back later for full withdrawals. That's a liquidity squeeze. And liquidity squeezes on a currency held at an artificial program rate have one resolution....

Still watching the Sunday meeting closely.

The political cleanup, the fiscal reform push, the CBI's stability infrastructure, the gatekeeper engagement.

All of it accelerating in the same 72-hour window.

Nine of twelve CF leaders didn't just reject Maliki. They cleared the last obstacle between Iraq's banking system and what the IMF, World Bank, and US Treasury have been building toward for three years.

And I know you want my opinon, so here it is:
The formation window is now open. And every institutional signal says they're ready to walk through it.

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