On 11 August, Iraq’s highest court ruled that PM Maliki’s bloc is biggest in parliament, meaning Maliki could stay Prime Minister. By 13 August, however, the Iraqi president had tasked Haider al-Abadi with forming a new government, and the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and some Iraqi politicians expressed their wish for a new leadership in Iraq, for example from Haider al-Abadi. Maliki on 14 August stepped down as PM, to support Mr al-Abadi and to “safeguard the high interests of the country”. The U.S. government welcomed this as “another major step forward” in uniting Iraq. On September 9, 2014, Haider al-Abadi had formed a new government and became the new prime minister.
