Top Iraq cleric says no role in talks on new PM as protests persist

Iraq's top Shia cleric said Friday he was not taking part in talks on the country's new premier, as his supporters joined apprehensive youths still protesting in the capital despite widening intimidation campaigns.

Young demonstrators have thronged Baghdad and the Shia-majority south since October, accusing the entrenched political elite of corruption and incompetence.

Last week, they brought down embattled prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who resigned after top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani intervened following a crackdown on protesters that has left around 430 people dead.

On Friday, Sistani said the Shia religious leadership, or "marjaiyah," was not involved in talks on a new PM.

"The marjaiyah is not party to any discussions on this and has no role in any way whatsoever," he said, in a sermon read by his representative in the shrine city of Karbala.

He did, however, urge that a new premier be selected within the 15-day window outlined in the constitution and with no "foreign interference."

Iraq's main political blocs have been debating candidates for the premiership but have yet to name anyone.

Two key foreign officials have attended the talks, according to a senior political source - Iran's pointman for Iraq Major General Qasem Soleimani and Mohammad Kawtharany, a leading power-broker from Lebanon's Hezbollah, a powerful Shia movement.

Iran in particular wields tremendous sway in Iraqi political and military circles, especially within the Hashed al-Shaabi, a security force which has largely been integrated into the state.