Iraqi president nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM

Ali al-Zaidi, a banking executive and institutional manager, has emerged as a consensus candidate for Iraq's prime minister after a prolonged political deadlock threatened government formation. Al-Zaidi, owner of Al-Janoob Islamic Bank and sanctioned by the US Treasury, was nominated by the Iran-aligned Shiite Coordination Framework and formally appointed by the president. His selection aims to break the impasse and stabilize Iraq's political process.