Iraq's New Parliament Convenes to Choose PM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iraq's new parliament convened for the first time Tuesday amid intense pressure to quickly choose a new prime minster.
The country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged lawmakers last week to agree on a prime minister, president and parliament speaker before Tuesday's meeting in hopes of averting months of wrangling that could further destabilize the country.
More than 250 of the legislature's 328 members were in attendance for Tuesday's session at parliament, which is located in the heavily guarded Green Zone in central Baghdad.
The proceedings opened with the playing of Iraq's national anthem, and lawmakers then took the oath of office, AP reported.
But the recent offensive spearheaded by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaeda breakaway group that has overrun much of northern and western Iraq, loomed over the lawmakers' meeting.
"There are many issues that need to be discussed today, but I believe that the most important one is to restore security and stability to Iraq, which is an essential condition for reform and development," said Mahdi al-Hafidh, who as the legislature's oldest member chaired the session.
