Iran vowed bombings in Baghdad if Abadi rejected coop. in elections: ex-lawmaker

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – A former Sunni lawmaker has revealed a threat by Iran to shower Baghdad with car bomb blasts if Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi rejected to ally himself with Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) in the upcoming parliamentary elections, slated for May.

Speaking in a televised interview, Umar Abdul Sattar, a former MP and a senior leader with the Iraqi Islamic Party, said, “Iran has requested Abadi to cooperate with the Iranian-backed Al-Fatah Al-Mubin (Manifest Victory) electoral alliance in the May parliamentary elections, otherwise it will detonate 60 booby-trapped cars in Baghdad.”

Abdul Sattar revealed that if Abadi rejected to do so, Iran “would have killed him as it did with late Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh,” according to Baghdad Today news website.

“However, after Abadi surrendered to the Iranian threat, Al-Fatah alliance rejected to run on his list to make him lose the support of Sunni, Kurdish and even Shiite groups,” Abdul Sattar said, adding that this move by Iran came as part of its plans to nominate Head of Badr Organization Hadi Al-Amiri as the coming prime minister in Iraq.

Earlier this month, Al-Fatah electoral alliance, which comprises several militia commanders, announced that “technical reasons” are behind its decision not to run on Abadi’s list in the coming parliamentary elections, slated for May 12th.

Also, a senior commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, from which the alliance hails, said that separation with Abadi happened in a friendly manner, denying reports that there had been differences over nomination for the post of Prime Minister.