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Shiite Cleric Ponders Running to Succeed Iraqi PM

Iraqi Shiite cleric Qassem Taei.
Iraqi Shiite cleric Qassem Taei.
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Shiite Cleric Ponders Running to Succeed Iraqi PM

Iraqi Shiite cleric Qassem Taei.
Iraqi Shiite cleric Qassem Taei.

Iraqi Shiite cleric Qassem Taei announced that he is considering running for head of the Iraqi government to succeed the outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

A statement released by Taei’s office said that the cleric “received many requests by the demonstrators to run for office, especially by demonstrators in the Dhi Qar governorate.”

Dhi Qar protesters demonstrated in support of the cleric with some voicing their confidence in his ability to pull the country out of its current crisis.

“Taie has a comprehensive program that includes eliminating corruption and bringing all the corrupt from 2003 to date to trial, no matter how influential they are,” the statement said, adding that although Taei has not yet decided his position on this nomination, he is studying the matter seriously.

Abdul Mahdi resigned in December following massive anti-government protests.

He is serving in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

Deep differences remain between political forces and demonstrators over appointing the next prime minister.

Protesters insist on the departure and accountability of all political elites accused of corruption and waste of state funds and who have governed since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”