BAGHDAD — Iraq’s top Shiite cleric has expressed concern about the country’s security pact with the United States, fearing it gives too much power to the Americans and does not protect Iraqi sovereignty, an official at his office said Saturday.
The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s comments fell short of outright rejection but will pressure Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government to sell the deal to the public before Iraqi voters render a final decision in a referendum to be held by July 30.
The pact also has to be ratified by Iraq’s three-man presidential council before it comes into force.
Al-Sistani, who wields tremendous influence among Iraq’s majority Shiites, had indicated that he would not object to the pact if it was passed by a comfortable majority in parliament. Parliament approved the agreement Thursday in a session attended by just under 200 of the legislature’s 275 lawmakers.
Also Saturday, a deadly rocket attack hit the U.S.-protected Green Zone. It bore the hallmarks of Shiite militiamen loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr and might have been linked to the security deal. The rocket struck near a U.N. compound, killing two foreigners and wounding 15 people. The Associated Press
