Iran's influence continues to shape new Iraqi government
After Iran succeeded in pushing through its preferred candidate for Iraq's parliament speaker, Tehran continued its pressure to secure the position of second deputy speaker, bringing the "score" to 2-0 against the US.
The Kurdish lawmaker was sitting in his flat Sept. 15 in Baghdad's Green Zone, under crippling pressure from the main Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni political parties to withdraw his nomination for the position of second deputy speaker of parliament.
With the threat of the Islamic State gone in bringing Iraqis together, the political parties found it difficult to reach an agreement about sharing power more than four months after May 12 elections, due to regional and international pressure, especially from Iran and the United States.
“I genuinely thought I could be abducted at any moment and killed,” Ahmad Haji Rashid said Sept. 19 as he recalled the events for Al-Monitor from the safety of his Sulaimaniyah office. Rashid, a rebellious, hardworking and pious parliament member respected by Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites alike, stepped into this melee without realizing the full implications.
Based on a power-sharing agreement and Tehran's influence, Iran managed to secure the parliament speaker position for Mohammed al-Halbusi of the largest Sunni bloc, the National Axis Coalition, and the first deputy position for Hassan Karim al-Kaabi, a Shiite from Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance. Rashid was one of four Kurdish candidates for the position of second deputy. His main rival was Bashir al-Haddad, a Sunni Turkmen from Erbil nominated by the main Kurdish party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
