Baghdad ired over Iranian vote?

BAGHDAD, June 18 (UPI) -- A lack of support from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the Iranian elections may point to cooling ties between the former rivals, a U.S. newspaper says.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani offered congratulations to Iranian President Ahmadinejad on his claims of re-election Friday, saying it bode well for stronger relations between the two neighbors.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite who was exiled in Iran in the 1980s, has offered no public statements on the election. Meanwhile, influential Shiite cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who is currently in Iran receiving treatment for lung cancer, issued praise for Iran's Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei but did not make any mention of Ahmadinejad.

The lack of public statements from Baghdad in support of Ahmadinejad may point to a sign that relations between Iran and Iraq are beginning to sour, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Iran and Iraq fought a bloody eight-year war in the 1980s. Those relations improved following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Lingering issues remain, however, over influence in the south of Iraq and over disputes regarding national borders and waterways.

Maliki, however, moved his forces into the south of Iraq last year to take control from militants that some officials say were tied to Iranian fighters. The U.S. military, for its part, has made repeated claims the Iranian military was funneling weapons into Iraq to fight American combat troops.

With Iraq set for national elections in January and Maliki certain to seek another term in office, the disputed election in Iran may trickle over to impact regional affairs.