Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Thursday led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who vowed to ensure a state monopoly on weapons amid growing US pressure to dismantle Tehran-backed groups.

Ali al-Zaidi, a prominent businessman with limited political experience, has backing from both the US and Iran.

Iraq’s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, whose government was approved on Thursday, vowed to ensure that the state would have a monopoly over weapons, the