Nouri al‑Maliki, the leader of the State of Law Coalition, affirmed that he will not withdraw from his candidacy for the premiership, stressing his respect for the Coordination Framework agreement and rejecting any external pressure. He also voiced support for restricting weapons to the authority of the state and responded to U.S. threats. The Framework is witnessing internal division over his nomination amid an American deadline for announcing its decision.

In an interview with Agence France‑Presse, al‑Maliki said:
“I have absolutely no intention of withdrawing, because I respect the state to which I belong—its sovereignty and its will. No one has the right to say, "Do not elect this person; elect that person."

He added that the Coordination Framework “agreed on this nomination. Therefore, out of respect for the position, I will not withdraw. I have said many times: there will be no withdrawal, all the way to the end.”

Al‑Maliki also reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that weapons remain exclusively under state control—something the United States has also demanded.

He said, "Yes, there are pressures from the American side, and multiple messages have arrived, which have recently settled on demands related to the state.”

He continued, "In truth, America has brought nothing new. These are our demands. We want weapons to be in the hands of the state. We want centralized military authority.”

Al‑Maliki added, "We have repeatedly said: we want a single army under a single command, directly answerable to the state, without multiple entities managing existing weapons.”

He also stressed his rejection of any attacks on diplomatic missions in Iraq, amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States.

He noted, "We will not allow any party to target any state that has a diplomatic presence here, or any embassy in Iraq. All countries can rest assured that we will prevent any violation of their embassies or officially accredited interests in Iraq.”