Iran Joins U.S. in Backing Replacement for Iraq’s Maliki
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Iran endorsed premier-designate Haidar al-Abadi to lead neighboring Iraq, leaving current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki without his strongest international backer as he continued to defy calls to step down.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Council, said yesterday in Tehran that he congratulates Abadi on his selection as the next prime minister, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The explicit embrace of Abadi was a step beyond an earlier Iranian statement approving of Iraq’s “political process.”