Tension in Iraq as cleric accuses Iran’s allies of meddling

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Parliament is set to hold a session to vote in replacements for 73 lawmakers who resigned earlier this month. But it isn’t clear whether the extraordinary session requested by 50 members of parliament during a recess would go through on Thursday. A two-thirds quorum of the legislature’s 329 members is required for an electoral session, and powerful Iraqi politician Muqtada al-Sadr urged parliamentary blocs not to succumb to “pressures.” The collective walkout by followers of the Shiite cleric threw Iraq into further uncertainty, deepening a months-long political crisis over government formation.