Iran on Monday signalled its strong support for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Mailiki, who is seeking a second term in office, by unrolling the red carpet for him during his visit to Tehran.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki received Mr. Maliki, who is visiting the region to garner support for a stable coalition government in Baghdad. He has already visited Jordan, and later plans to visit Turkey and Egypt.
Iran's state-run Press TV reported that Mr. Maliki is engaged in building a coalition government, and is now “short of handful of seats”.
Mr. Maliki's chances for a second term improved substantially when Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr recently pledged him his support. Mr. Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia had once fought pitched battles with the American forces, is presently in Iran to pursue higher theological studies. Mr. Maliki is visiting Qom, Iran's spiritual capital, amid speculation of his possible meeting there with Mr. Sadr.
Iran's state-run news agency IRNA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Rauf Sheibani as saying that Mr. Maliki was “one of the suitable choices” to lead the next Iraqi government. He pointed to Mr. Maliki's experience in leading Iraq and the “sensitive conditions” that were expected to prevail there as American forces expanded their pull-out from there.
“Formation of a government as soon as possible and establishment of full security are among the important needs of Iraq because development and reconstruction of Iraq ... can't be achieved without these two,” Iran state TV quoted supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei as saying.
As Mr. Maliki moves closer to form the new government, his arch-rival Iyad Allawi, who has wide support among Iraqi Sunnis, has sharpened his attack on Iran. Speaking on Sunday to Al Arabiya satellite channel, Mr. Allawi warned Iran “not impose or support one faction over the other”. He added: “I won't be begging Iran to agree upon my nomination.”
