Iraqi VP Allawi says Iran should stop interfering in Iraq

Iran’s support to Shiite groups in Iraq is obstructing efforts to bridge the sectarian divide ahead of a parliamentary election next year, Iraqi Vice President Iyad Allawi said on Friday.

Iraqi leaders hope to restore control over all Iraqi territory, defeating ISIS, before an election due by the middle of next year.

“Iran has been interfering even in the decision [making process] of the Iraqi people,” he said. “We don’t want an election based on sectarianism, we want an inclusive political process ... we hope that the Iraqis would choose themselves without any involvement by any foreign power.”

Allawi was in Cairo to meet Egyptian leaders including President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for discussions about oil and the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

“This is the right time to have a fair election that nobody interferes in, neither Iran nor anybody else, nor Turkey, nor Syria nor the US,” said Allawi.

Allawi has previously accused Tehran of blocking his bid to become prime minister in the 2010 elections.