Top Iran general in Baghdad after 'deliberate' ballot warehouse fire

Top Iran general in Baghdad after 'deliberate' ballot warehouse fire
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has reportedly arrived in the Iraqi capital after a "deliberate" fire ravaged a warehouse storing votes from May's legislative election.

2 min read
11 June, 2018
The election that saw a surprise victory for populist Sadr [Getty]

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has reportedly arrived in the Iraqi capital after a "deliberate" fire ravaged a warehouse storing votes from May's legislative election.

Qassem Soleimani landed in Baghdad late on Sunday to meet with Shia political leaders and discuss the ramifications of the blaze, a senior Iraqi official told The New Arab's Arabic-language service.

"Soleimani has come to end tensions between Shia political blocs and Hashed al-Shaabi militias," the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.

"The crisis has taken a new turn as there are accusations of a Shia group being involved in the fire, especially because most of the burnt ballot boxes were from area won by Moqtada al-Sadr,"

"Sadr was likely the target of the incident and his supporters are promoting this theory," he said.

The source added that Soleimani with Hadi al-Amiri, leader of a pro-Iran bloc, and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki close to Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone.

The top Iranian general reportedly travelled to Iraq last month to push for the formation of a new "friendly government".

Iraqi Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji said on Monday the fire at the warehouse was started "deliberately".

The fire ripped through the warehouse on Sunday ahead of a vote recount prompted by allegations of fraud during the election that saw a surprise victory for populist Sadr, who is opposed to Iranian interference in Iraq.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control several hours after it broke out in a warehouse located in al-Russafa, one of the largest voting districts in eastern Baghdad.

The fire erupted as the Supreme Council of Justice on Sunday appointed nine judges to supervise a manual vote recount which had been ordered by Iraq's outgoing parliament.

Sadr has warned late on Sunday that Iraq could face a new civil war breaking out in the country.

"It is time to stand up for reconstruction rather than the burning of ballot boxes or a new election for the sake of one or two seats," Sadr said in a statement.

"This is the will of the people ... but not those who want to start a civil war," Sadr said.