SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Iran hails Iraq parliament selections
Tehran, Sept 16 (AFP) Sep 16, 2018
Iran on Sunday hailed the selections made by Iraq's parliament a day after the body elected candidates backed by a pro-Tehran bloc as speaker and first deputy.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran supports decisions made by the (Iraqi) people's elected representatives," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Iraq's democracy, territorial integrity and national sovereignty," he added.

Iran is a key power broker in neighbouring Iraq and many of the militias that played a central role in ousting the Islamic State group are known to be close to Tehran.

Iraq's national politics has been in paralysis since the May 12 national elections, but Saturday's appointments were expected to solidify new alliances and pave the way towards forming a government.

"We hope we soon witness the election of the president and prime minister to form a new Iraqi government," said Ghasemi.

Lawmakers appointed as speaker former Anbar governor Mohammed al-Halbusi, a Sunni politician backed by a pro-Iran bloc led by Hadi al-Ameri's Conquest Alliance -- a coalition of anti-jihadist veterans close to Tehran.

The post of first deputy speaker was given to Hassan Karim, put forward by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr whose list won the largest share of seats in the election.

Baghdad and Tehran, which fought a brutal war from 1980 to 1988, came closer after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the rise of Iraq's Shiite majority on the political landscape.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.