Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki said today that the formation of the Cabinet was “mostly complete,” but an influential Shiite group and some Sunni Arab politician signalled the deal was far from done.

A Shiite political party today said it would not participate in the formation of a new Cabinet, saying the selection of the ministers was being dictated by personal interests that ran counter to the spirit of national unity.

Iran’s foreign minister yesterday demanded the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra, saying their presence had destabilised Iraq’s second-largest city.