New hope in Iraq impasse

IRAQI Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, under intense pressure to give up plans for a second term, agreed yesterday to let Shi’ite lawmakers reconsider his nomination, a step that could mark a breakthrough in the months-long effort to form a new government.

Key to Mr al-Jaafari’s change of heart was pressure from UN envoy Ashraf Qazi and his meetings with the powerful Shi’ite clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shi’ite cleric who has backed al-Jaafari, said Kurdish politician Mahmoud Othman.

“Qazi’s meetings with (al-Sistani) and al-Sadr were the chief reason that untied the knot,” said Mr Othman.