Irans Khamenei warns of attempts to create sectarian war in Iraq -...

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Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned on Saturday (June 28) of attempts in Iraq to create sectarian war.

In a televised speech, broadcast on state television, Khamenei attributed the current situation in Iraq to a remaining core former President Saddam Hussein's regime, deposed in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

"They have all their hopes set on the Shi'ite-Sunni war, whether in Iraq or other areas of the Islamic world. The remnants and leftovers of the Saddam regime in Iraq, along with a group of oblivious and ignorant people who have no knowledge or understanding are the ones who commit these crimes that you hear about and see," said Khamenei, seated on a stage and addressing a large crowd.

Khamenei dismissed the notion of a Shi'ite-Sunni war, claiming the fight was between "terrorist and those against terrorism".

"There is no Shi'ite-Sunni war today; it is the war of terrorists with those against terrorism, the war of those who are devoted to the goals of America and the West with the fans of the independence of nations. It's the war between humanity and savagery and barbarianism," he said.

In Iraqi, party leaders planned delicate talks that could end Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's divisive rule after a top Shi'ite cleric called for a new premier to be chosen without delay to tackle Islamist rebels threatening to tear apart the country.

Major powers are pushing for a new inclusive government, rather than one pursuing Shi'ite sectarian domination, to be formed fast to counter the insurrection that has spilled across the border with Syria and could menace the wider Middle East.

In a striking political intervention on Friday that could signal the demise of Maliki's eight-year tenure, influential Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged political blocs to agree on the next premier, parliament speaker and president before a newly elected legislature meets in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Tehran and Washington have been shocked by the lightning offensive, spearheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) but also involving Sunni tribes and Saddam loyalists. It has seen swaths of northern and western Iraq fall, including the major city of Mosul on June 10.

REUTERS

Iran's Khamenei warns of attempts to create sectarian war in Iraq