Punktsieg für den Iran im Irak

Im Irak konnte der Iran eine Niederlage vorläufig abwenden: Mit Druck gelang es, eine Koalition zu Wege zu bringen, in der mit Amiri ein Mann Teherans eine große Rolle spielen wird. In Bagdad geht man davon aus, dass einige Bombenattentate Muqtada al Sadr zeigen solltem, was passiert, wenn er weiter einen dezidiert anti-iranischen Kurs fahren würde:

In the wake of the sudden coalition deal struck between Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon Alliance and the pro-Iran Fatah Alliance on June 12, the allied parties seem to be trying to soften the reactions of the opposing parties both inside and outside Iraq. (...)

These rapid developments come in the wake of several bombings that targeted Baghdad, most notably the explosion June 6 in the arms depot of Sadr City, which is predominantly loyal to Sadr, as well as the June 10 burning of the warehouse where ballot boxes were kept in the Rusafa district of Baghdad.

The growing differences over the results of the recent elections have deepened the tension plaguing the country, which prompted several political parties, including Sadr himself, to warn against the outbreak of civil war in Iraq.

All indicators show that the recent coalition deal comes following pressure placed on both Sairoon and Fatah, as there had been no previous preparations for such a deal, which was concluded very quickly amid the recent tension.

Über den "Druck" schreibt AFP:

Insiders said the unlikely tie-up to try to form a new government came after Iran decided that if it couldn't beat Sadr, then it might be better to seek to join him.

In the immediate aftermath of the vote, Tehran had launched a political offensive to try to unite its allies and block Sadr's path to power.

But Iran changed tack on realising pushing the popular cleric aside was too problematic, and instead sought to include Sadr in a Shiite alliance broad enough to neutralise his influence.

At a meeting Sunday with Ameri and former premier Nuri al-Maliki at Iran's embassy in Baghdad, top emissaries from Tehran apparently endorsed a link-up with Sadr as the lesser of two evils.

"Dismissing Moqtada Sadr could allow him to assemble other groups and increase the criticism levelled at Iran's role in Iraq," said a source close to participants of the meeting.

The gathering involved influential Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Mojtaba Khamenei, son of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Soleimani used the opportunity to call for "a strong government, far from American and Saudi pressure and from foreign interference", the same source told AFP.

If the broad Shiite alliance gets off the ground Iran will be "the first to support the next government in Iraq," Soleimani was quote as saying.