Iraq PM warns US not to interfere

Ibrahim Jaafari's government has been criticised for poor performance

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari has defended his right to stay in office and warned the US not to interfere in his country's politics.

Mr Jaafari also defended his ties with radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, saying he and his militia needed to be accepted into mainstream politics.

The comments came in an interview with the New York Times newspaper.

On Tuesday, Iraqi politicians said the US ambassador had told them the US did not want Mr Jaafari to remain PM.

The ruling Shia-led bloc re-selected him after winning December's election.

But Kurdish and Sunni Arab parties have rejected the United Iraqi Alliance's nomination and have threatened to boycott a national unity government unless Mr Jaafari withdraws.

The delay in forming a government is thought to be partly responsible for fuelling the increasing sectarian violence which has struck Iraq since last month's bombing of the al-Askari shrine at Samarra, one of Shia Islam's holiest.

US interference

Speaking to the New York Times, Mr Jaafari said comments from US officials on his candidacy and the political process had undermined US President George W Bush's commitment to democracy in Iraq.

Anyone who's part of the Iraqi reality should be part of the Iraqi house Ibrahim Jaafari

"There was a stand from both the American government and President Bush to promote a democratic policy and protect its interests," he said.

"But now there's concern among the Iraqi people that the democratic process is being threatened," he added.

"The source of this is that some American figures have made statements that interfere with the results of the democratic process."

Relations between Shia leaders and the US have been strained in recent months, but dropped to a new low on Sunday after a raid on a Baghdad mosque complex that left about 20 people dead.

US officials said 16 insurgents had been killed and 18 captured, along with a significant weapons cache. But Shia politicians said many of the dead were civilians taking part in prayers.

Mr Jaafari told the New York Times that US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad had visited him on Wednesday but did not say he should step down.

Militias

One of the groups instrumental in the UIA's selection of Mr Jaafari was the Sadr Bloc of MPs loyal to Mr Sadr, and Mr Jaafari insisted the cleric's supporters should be included in the political process.

Iraq's insurgent groups Profile: Moqtada Sadr

He said he had disagreed with the former head of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer, who banned newspapers backing Mr Sadr and issued an arrest warrant against him. .

"I look at them [Mr Sadr and his supporters] as part of Iraq's de facto reality, whether some of the individual people are negative or positive," he said.

"Anyone who's part of the Iraqi reality should be part of the Iraqi house."

Mr Jaafari said the Iraqi government would try to "meld them, take them, take their names and make them join the army and police forces".

"And they will respect the army or police rather than the militias," he said.

But he said that the key ministries in any new government would go to people without ties to militias or clear sectarian bias.

"We insist that the ministers in the next cabinet, especially the ministers of defence and the interior, shouldn't be connected to any militias, and they should be non-sectarian," he said.

"They should be experienced in security work. They should keep the institutions as security institutions, not as political institutions. They should work for the central government."