It was reported that Tehran has stripped Qassim Suleimani, of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), of his responsibility for the Iraq dossier, and assigned the dossier to Majlis speaker Ali Larijani, who is rumored to be visiting Baghdad soon.
Suleimani is seen as having failed to bridge the gap between the two leading Shi'a groups [al-Maliki and al-Hakim/al-Sadr] to arrive at an agreement on a common candidate for the post of prime minister in Iraq. In fact, it is said that the gap between them has widened.
Larijani is considered one of Iran's leading politicians. He was born in Najaf in 1958 and, hence, he speaks Iraqi dialect fluently. He holds degrees in mathematics and Western philosophy.
While Suleimani operated behind the curtain, Larijani will pursue Iran's demand toward the two Shi'a parties more forcefully, and in public. Iran hopes to succeed where the U.S. and Vice President Joe Biden have failed.
Source: Al-Rafidayn, July 13, 2010
