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Iraq Protests: PM Sees Power Being Clipped By Rivals

Iraq Protests: PM Sees Power Being Clipped By Rivals

As anti-government protests sweep his country, Iraq’s embattled premier has found his decision-making powers clipped by rivals and his entourage subject to increasing pressure from Iran, Iraqi officials told AFP.
Adel Abdel Mahdi, 77, came to power last year as the product of a tenuous alliance between populist cleric Moqtada Sadr and pro-Iran paramilitary chief Hadi al-Ameri, with the required blessing of Iraq’s Shiite religious leadership.

He was seen as an almost professorial figure who could tackle unemployment and government graft as Iraq’s first prime minister since the defeat of the Islamic State group.