US accuses Iraqi politicians of being influenced by Iran

The top US commander in Iraq says the United States has accused two senior Iraqi politicians of being “influenced” by Iran.

General Raymond Odierno claimed that Ali al-Lami and Ahmed Chalabi, who have forcefully called for an electoral ban on candidates with Baath party ties, “are clearly influenced by Iran” and have attended senior-level meetings with Iranian officials, AP reported on Tuesday.

Odierno apparently made the comments in response to Ahmed Chalabi’s remarks on Sunday, in which he said that US Vice President Joe Biden and Washington’s ambassador to Baghdad, Christopher Hill, applied pressure on a committee responsible for vetting candidates and on judges who ruled on who could stand for office.

“The appeal committee was submitted publicly to the pressure of foreign groups, like Vice President Biden, who said when he was in Iraq (in January) that he hoped Iraqi justice will dissolve the committee of integrity and accountability,” said Chalabi.

“Or when the American ambassador in Baghdad expressed his wish that the Iraqi justice system will solve an inconvenient matter — the issue of the 500 candidates,” he added.