Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani voiced Tehran’s support for the legal procedures taken in Iraq for the appointment of Iraq’s new Prime Minister, and stressed that the new Iraqi prime minister should be named by the majority fraction at the parliament as envisaged in the constitution.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the legal procedure paved for choosing the new Iraqi prime minister,” Shamkhani said, addressing the annual forum of the Iranian ambassadors to different world states in Tehran on Tuesday.
“The legal frameworks envisaged in Iraq’s Constitution, which is the country’s national convention, present the basis for the election of the prime minister by the majority fraction at Iraq’s national assembly,” he added.
Shamkhani called on all Iraqi groups and coalitions to keep united and respect the frameworks of national unity to protect the country’s national interests and the rule of the law, and demanded them to show much care and attention to the sensitive situation in Iraq which is faced with foreign threats.
He lauded the religious leadership’s role as a pivot for maintaining solidarity and unity in Iraq, and underlined Iran’s support for an integrated and secure Iraq which renders service to its people and enhances its regional position.
Iraq’s President Fuad Masum has asked al-Abadi to form a new government.
Abadi has been nominated as prime minister, while Shiite parties, including the State of the Law which has the majority fraction at the parliament, have named incumbent Nouri Maliki as their choice for premiership. According to Iraq’s constitution, the majority fraction at the parliament should name the prime minister. Also according to the constitution, the country’s president should be a Kurd, while the parliament speaker should be chosen from the Sunnis and the Prime Minister should be appointed from the Shiites.
Maliki has made it clear he wants to stand for a third term, and earlier said he intends to take the president to court.
