Iran seeks alternative to Maliki to hold Iraq together

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during an interview with Reuters in Baghdad in this January 12, 2014 file photoReuters/Ankara/BaghdadRegional power broker Iran believes Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is no longer able to hold his country together and is looking for an alternative leader to combat a Sunni Islamist insurgency, senior Iranian officials said on Tuesday. Political deadlock since an inconclusive general election in April has paralysed efforts to fight back against Islamic State rebels who have captured swathes of northern and western Iraq and Syria and have threatened to march on Baghdad. One Iranian official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Tehran was working with Iraqi factions to seek a replacement for Maliki, but there were few viable alternatives. "We have reached the conclusion that Maliki cannot preserve the unity of Iraq anymore, but Ayatollah (Ali) Sistani still has hopes," said the Iranian official, referring to Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric. "Now, Ayatollah Sistani also backs our view on Maliki." "There are not many candidates who can and have the capability to preserve unity of Iraq. Our ambassador to Iraq has had some meetings in the past days with relevant groups and some of the candidates," the first Iranian official said. Political allies said Maliki, seen as an authoritarian figure whose sectarian agenda has destabilised Iraq, had no intention of stepping aside despite mounting pressure from Sunnis, Kurds, some fellow Shi'ites and now Iran. Maliki, a relative unknown when he came to office in 2006, has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since the April vote and said he would seek a third term, despite widespread opposition. An Iraqi minister, speaking on condition of anonymity because of sectarian tensions within the caretaker government, confirmed that there was a marked change in the position of Tehran, the biggest foreign influence in Iraq.