Iraqi cleric steps back, asks rivals to try form government

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — A powerful Iraqi cleric says he will step back for the next 40 days and give his Iran-backed rivals the chance to form the next government. The surprising decision by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr came in a tweet on Thursday amid persisting political deadlock, five months after general elections. Al-Sadr has called on his followers not to interfere “neither positively not negatively” as his rivals form the Coordination Framework bloc try to cobble together a Cabinet. Iraqi political parties are at an impasse, and al-Sadr — though the winner of the election — has been unable to form a coalition government.