BAGHDAD, May 26 (UPI) -- A Shiite scientist once jailed by Saddam Hussein for opposing Iraq's nuclear weapons appears to be a top contender for the job of prime minister.
Dr. Hussain al-Shahristani is a science adviser to the Iraqi government who spent years in Abu Ghraib prison for objecting to Saddam's weapons program, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
If Shahristani's selection is finalized, it could break a long and bitter impasse among Iraq's various ethnic and religious factions over who will be governing Iraq from June 30 to the time of Iraq's first elections, planned for early next year.
The search for a prime minister and other top aides in the caretaker government has been led by Lakhdar Brahimi, a U.N. special envoy, and Robert D. Blackwill, President Bush's envoy in Iraq.
A senior administration official said from Baghdad no final decision had been made on the top jobs in the government but that Blackwill and Brahimi were closing in on their choices.
