Iraqis react to Iranian election

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election as President of Iran has raised new questions about relations between the two neighbouring countries, especially given the unprecedented level of Iranian influence in Iraq during his first term of office.

Iraqi political forces close to Iran immediately welcomed the contested election victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), who is currently being treated in a Tehran hospital for lung cancer, sent a telegram to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, congratulating him on "the success of the elections." Hamid Muala, a leading ISCI parliamentarian, told Niqash that "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad… has good relations with Iraqi leaders and during his term positive relations between the two countries were established."