Saudi Arabia does not have much room for maneuver in Iraq despite the electoral victory of a political bloc led by the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr whose rare visit to the oil kingdom last year signaled a possible rapprochement with Riyadh, says a lawmaker. The Sairoon electoral list backed by Sadr and who has challenged both United States and Iran—won the parliamentary election, winning 54 parliamentary seats, Reuters reported, citing a Saturday announcement by the electoral commission.
"Saudi Arabia may be able to wield influence on certain people in isolated cases and for a limited period. But the overall situation in Iraq is not against Iran from different perspectives, and Iran has a diverse connections in Iraq," Elias Hazrati told ICANA.
Saudi Visit
Sadr was hosted at the highest levels of the Saudi ruling establishment during a visit to the Red Sea port city of Jeddah in 2017, which experts say was a message to his competitors in Iraq's increasingly fragmented political scene as it underlined his international relevance and burnished his prestige and credentials as an Iraqi statesman. Sadr's visit to the kingdom—which has long tried to increase its involvement in Iraq—was also interpreted as a message to Tehran, whose influence Riyadh is seeking to curb in the volatile but strategic region.
"Saudi Arabia simply does not have lot of space to maneuver or serve as a game-changer in Iraq's future," the Tehran lawmaker noted.
"Iran currently has good connections with senior religious leaders, politicians, Kurds and Sunnis in Iraq," he said, and added that the Islamic Republic has acted wisely in Iraq and has not confined itself to any single party or group.
Iran has cordial relations with Iraq and the Arab neighbor will remain a good friend, the parliamentarian said.
Way Ahead
Sadr himself cannot become prime minister as he did not run in the election, though his bloc's victory puts him in a position to have a strong say in negotiations.
Winning the largest number of seats does not automatically guarantee that he will be able to hand-pick a prime minister.
The Victory Alliance, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, trailed in third place with 42 seats, several seats behind the Al-Fatih bloc, which won 47 seats.
Al-Fatih is led by Hadi al-Amiri, who has close ties with Iran and heads a group that played a key role in defeating the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group.
Parties will have to align themselves to try and form a bloc large enough for the parliamentary majority necessary to nominate a candidate.
Low Turnout
The results were announced a week after Iraqis voted in a nationwide election, which produced surprising results amid historically low turnout.
Since no electoral list won an outright majority, negotiations to form a government are expected to drag on for months. The government should be formed within 90 days of the official results.
