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US senators say reassured Iraqi Shiite leader Hakim not in Iranian orbit
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US Democrat senators who met representatives of Iraqi Shiite political leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim said they were encouraged the cleric would work to bring the Sunni minority into a future government and dismissed the notion his movement was under Iranian influence.
Senators Joseph Lieberman and Mark Dayton, on a one-day visit to Iraq , met Hakim representatives belonging to the Unified Iraqi Alliance, a political grouping of Shiite parties considered the favourite in the January 30 elections.
The senators said they had planned to see Hakim, who escaped a car bomb attack outside his Baghdad offices on Monday that killed 13 and wounded dozens more, but that security concerns prevented such a meeting.
Hakim's list is considered to be pro-Iranian in some Western political circles, with some officials believing Hakim's own party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, is receiving funding from Iran.
Lieberman, an influential right-leaning senator who ran for vice president in 2000, said he was reassured about Hakim's intentions and that he believed his party would work to bring the Sunni Muslim minority into the fold.
"There is some concern in the US about the closeness of this list to Iran and their intentions as they go forward. I found it to be a very reassuring meeting," he said.
"They (Hakim's representatives) indicated they hope to have an inclusive government (and) that they are attempting to reach out to the Sunni forces.
"Again this is just the beginning. Ultimately actions speak louder than words... (but) I found their words encouraging."
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