US scraps amity treaty with Iran
Tehran origin of threat to American missions in Iraq, Pompeo says
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran yesterday for threats to American missions in Iraq and said the US was terminating a treaty of amity with Tehran.
“Iran is the origin of the current threat to Americans in Iraq,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. “Our intelligence in this regard is solid. We can see the hand of the ayatollah and his henchmen supporting these attacks on the United States.”
Yesterday, the World Court ordered the US to ensure that sanctions against Iran, due to be tightened next month, do not affect humanitarian aid.
Judges at the International Court of Justice argued that sanctions imposed since May by the Trump administration violate the terms of a 1955 Treaty of Amity between the two countries. Washington responded by pulling out of the treaty, something Pompeo said should have been done decades ago.
The US announced on Friday it will effectively close its consulate in the Iraqi city of Basra and relocate diplomatic personnel assigned there following increasing threats from Iran and Iran-backed militia, including rocket fire.
The appointment of Adel Abdul Mahdi, an independent veteran Shiite politician, as prime minister to form the new government in Iraq ends the 13-year grip on power by the major Shiite political party of Al Dawa, Iraqi analysts have said.
But, Iraqi political parties should not exert pressure on Abdul Mahdi, who had sought a free hand in choosing his cabinet without any political or religious pressure, the analysts said.
“One of his (Mahdi’s) conditions to accept the position of Prime Minister was to be able to choose technocrats and those who are capable of carrying out their duties independently based on government directives,” said Halim Al Aaraji, an Iraqi journalist and analyst based in Baghdad.
“Whether he can achieve this or not is yet to be seen,” Al Aaraji told Gulf News.
Abdul Mahdi, a former member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, was appointed Prime Minister by Iraq’s new President Barham Salih on Tuesday.
According to the unofficial agreement after the US invasion of Iraq, Iraq’s presidency goes to a Kurd, while the Prime minister’s post to a Shiite and the parliament speaker’s post to a Sunni.
Abdul Mahdi is the first politician from outside Al Dawa party to hold the position in the last 13 years. All former premiers, Ebrahim Al Jaafari, Nouri Al Maliki and Haider Al Abadi, are members of Al Dawa party.
Iraqi analyst Sanad Al Shamari told Iraqi press that Abdul Mahdi’s government could bring change in Iraq by bridging the gap between the government and the people by providing better services. Abdul Mahdi, Shamari said, enjoys good relations with various political parties, as well as Arab and foreign countries.
“Political parties should not exert undue pressure on the Abdul Mahdi government to pick certain ministers,” so his government can provide better circumstances to the Iraqis.
Abdul Mahdi yesterday began the tough task of forming the next government, seeking to overcome sharp differences and unite fractious political parties.
In a surprise move late Tuesday, new President Barham Salih handed Abdul Mahdi the difficult responsibility only hours after being elected.
It comes as several different blocs in the Iraqi parliament are jostling for power following the May elections — in-fighting which had so far stymied the formation of a new government.
The largest bloc traditionally appoints the prime minister and presides over the formation of the next government.
But the exact contours of a new governing coalition are yet to be drawn.
Power-sharing system
Iraq has a proportional system designed to prevent a slide back into dictatorship following the 2003 ouster of late dictator Saddam Hussain.
In a country long a political battleground between the United States and Iran as they fight for influence, Abdul Mahdi is regarded as a rare figure of consensus.
Now he has just 30 days to navigate tangled Iraqi politics and form a government. If he fails, then another candidate will have to be chosen to pick up the baton.
Under a tacit accord between the region’s two main factions, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the PUK hold the federal presidency and the KDP the post of Iraqi Kurdistan president.