Iraq asks for Iran's mediation in Hashimi's case

The Al-Iraqiya Alliance sent Iraq's Communication Minister Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, who is a close relative of Alliance Leader Iyad Allawi, to Tehran to demand Iranian officials pick up a mediating role to help resolve the political crisis in Iraq as the gap is widening among rival Iraqi groups over the case of former Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi. Tariq al-Hashimi is accused of involvement in several terrorist operations against Iraq's parliamentarians and has escaped to the Kurdistan region. The KRG officials have denied repeated demands by the Iraqi government, supreme court and police for the extradition of Hashimi to Baghdad. Iraq's Arabic al-Nakhil news agency reported on Monday that the Iraqiya Alliance has sent Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi to Iran to ask the country start mediations between Hashimi's pros and foes. The news agency further pointed out that Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq also intended to visit Iran to the same end, but has received a negative response from Iran. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fired Mutlaq, who has intimate relations with Hashimi, only a day after Maliki accused Hashemi of masterminding terrorist operations against the country's officials. Parliament would have to approve the dismissal. Member of the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party Seyed Mahmoud al-Miali told FNA last week that Hashimi's case has created discord and division among the Al-Iraqiya list, adding that while some believe the faction should support the accused vice-president, others disagree. Hashemi is accused of masterminding the car bombing which took place on November 28 and injured a number of Iraqi parliamentarians. According to the Iraqi government, evidence pointed at al-Hashimi's embroilment in the parliament blast incident after deriving confessions from four arrested Islamic Party members. Iraq's Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant for Hashimi after it found the evidence against him as to be "genuine" and "substantiating". Iran had earlier underlined that the case is an internal issue of Iraq and reiterated that it would not meddle with Hashimi's issue. Iranian Envoy to Baghdad Hassan Danayifar rejected some foreign media reports that Iran has been asked by Iraqi officials to mediate in Hashimi's case. "The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes that Tariq al-Hashemi's charges ... should be investigated by Iraq's judicial authorities…," Danayifar added.