IIP head to IraqiNews.com: Our doors are open to Hashemi, other blocs

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The secretary general of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) Osama al-Tikriti on Tuesday said that it is currently negotiating with political forces that have withdrawn from the Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) in an effort to form the nucleus of a wide coalition ahead of the next parliamentary elections. In an interview with Iraqi News, Tikriti said that the coalition might include the Dialogue Front, al-Iraqiya, al-Hadbaa, Iraqi Scholars, the Anbar awakening councils and the Constitutional Party. Tikriti pointed out that the former secretary general of the IIP, Tareq al-Hashemi, is invited to join the coalition. According to Tikriti, the political landscape in Iraq has seen a dramatic shift driven by the emergence of new forces and the defection of others. Tikriti said that the changes are in the interest of the country’s political progress. SS (P) 1