Iran casts its shadow over high-stakes Iraq vote

As the US prepares to withdraw its forces from Iraq, Iran is said to be working hard to fill a potential power vacuum.

Baghdad: As the US prepares to withdraw its forces from Iraq, Iran is said to be working hard to fill a potential power vacuum, an effort that faces its first big test in Sunday`s elections, in which Tehran is backing hard-liners against a coalition of moderates.
Shi’ite Iran already has reliable allies in Syria, Lebanon`s Hezbollah and Gaza`s Hamas, and a free rein in Iraq would broaden its regional leverage, unnerving Israel and potentially diminishing the clout of Sunni powerhouses like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

But it is Iran`s alleged political meddling, what US Ambassador Christopher Hill called its "malevolent involvement" that most troubles US and Iraqi officials.

According to a senior Iraqi government security official with access to intelligence reports, it was Iranian influence that brought about the election alliance between two avowed Shi’ite rivals the Sadrists who follow Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shi’ite cleric believed to be living in Iran, and the Iranian-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.

There are no reliable opinion polls, but the Shi’ite coalition, which is led by clerics and calls itself the Iraqi National Alliance, is expected to do well against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a moderate Iraqi whose bloc is dominated by Shi’ites but also has Sunnis and Kurds.

PTI

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