Iraqi prime minister warns of possible “grave consequences” of “tremendous political tensions.”

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mostafa al-Kazemi has warned that “tremendous political tensions” threaten “serious consequences” and called for calm in the face of an upsurge in political differences over the appointment of the new government after the October elections.

“While we have taken all necessary measures and actions to control the situation and avoid bloodshed, mainly at the security level, we call on all parties to calm down, reduce tensions and launch an initiative to reach a solution on a national basis,” he said.

Thus, Al Kazemi has stressed in a statement posted on the official account of his office on Facebook that “no one should be dragged into the accusations of treason, hostility and hatred between the brothers of the same homeland” and called on the parties to “sit at a national dialogue table to achieve a political solution to the crisis under the roof of an Iraqi synergy.”

The prime minister has further conveyed to the protesters that his message “is clear” and that “your commitment to calm and organization is appreciated.” “It is time to discuss the mechanisms of a reform project agreed upon by the national parties”, he has defended.

“I am sure that Iraq has enough rationality and courage to move forward with a national strategy to bring the country out of the crisis,” he has explained, while stressing that “the political forces must assume their national and legal responsibility.”

“The interim government has fulfilled its duties despite having exceeded the time limit set by the constitutional framework to form a new Executive, which is a violation of the Constitution,” he has recalled, before showing his willingness to “give all the help to achieve a satisfactory solution for all that preserves social peace, the stability of state institutions and the interest of the people.”

Finally, he called on the demonstrators to “cooperate with the security forces, respect the state institutions, leave the buildings and adhere to public order”, while the security forces “must defend public and private properties and official institutions, avoiding any attack through legal means.

During the day on Monday, Iraq’s main pro-Iranian parties and militias, integrated in the Coordination Framework, called on the formations allied to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for a dialogue in the face of the occupation of the Parliament headquarters by his followers.

However, Salah al Obeidi, a ‘Sadrist’ spokesman, denounced that the independent government project collapsed after the nomination as prime ministerial candidate of the pro-Iranian Mohamed al Sudani, who sparked the demonstrations and the storming of the Parliament during the day on Saturday.

The Sayirun coalition led by Al Sadr was the most voted in last October’s elections. It includes Iraqi nationalists and communists and won 73 of the 329 seats at stake. However, the Sayirun deputies withdrew from Parliament in June in protest at the lack of solutions to the political crisis.