Anti-U.S. cleric pressures Iraqi P.M.

BAGHDAD, July 20 (UPI) -- An anti-U.S. cleric whose followers hold 12 percent of the Iraqi Parliament's seats is poised to influence formation of a government, political observers say.

Moqtada al-Sadr, who is living in Iran, met Monday in Syria with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's main political rival, Ayad Allawi -- a former prime minister who heads the Iraqiya coalition, which defeated Maliki's State of Law bloc in parliamentary elections in March.

Sadr, the head of a militia that fought U.S. and Iraqi forces as recently as two years ago, heads a coalition that won 39 of the 325 seats in Parliament -- and is poised to influence the formation of an Iraqi government that will oversee the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq this year and next, The New York Times reported Monday.

Five months after the parliamentary elections, Iraq has yet to form a government and elect a prime minister or president. Sadr's followers have allied themselves with Maliki's coalition but they oppose Maliki's candidacy for another four-year term as prime minister, the Times said.

Following Monday's meeting with Allawi in Damascus, Syria, Sadr said he "found a readiness from Iraqiya to make concessions … and I call on State of Law to do the same for the general good and for the Iraqi people."

Allawi's coalition won 91 seats and Maliki's group won 89. At least 163 seats are required to form a majority coalition, the Times noted.