The WSJ reports,"Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric called on Friday for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step aside, breaking ranks with the leader of the Shiite-dominated government after nearly two weeks of fighting with Sunni militants that has left the country's military humiliated.
In a sermon to worshipers in the holy city of Karbala, a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani didn't mention the prime minister by name. But Ahmed al-Safi said it was time for a different administration in Iraq, which is beset by a powerful Sunni insurgency led by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
"It is necessary for the winning political blocs to start a dialogue that yields an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis," Mr. al-Safi said.
Were Mr. Maliki to heed the grand ayatollah's call, it would mark a stunning reversal of fortune for the Iraq's premier, who had been planning for a third, four-year term after his electoral coalition won a plurality of votes in parliamentary elections only a few weeks ago.
Iraqiyya television, which was created by U.S. forces following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 but has since become an important mouthpiece for Mr. Maliki, cast the turmoil in Iraq as a religious conflict and focused its reports on the necessity to rise to the militant Sunni challenge to the Baghdad government.
Mr. Obama, in his speech on Thursday, signaled some limited support for Iraq's fight against Sunni rebels but made clear he wouldn't launch airstrikes against the insurgents or deploy U.S. ground troops to the country. He said, however, that he would send 300 military advisers to assist the Iraqi military.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari appealed to the Obama administration on Wednesday to launch airstrikes against the Sunni militants, whose two-week military offensive launched in northern Iraq has shocked American and Iraqi officials and put some of its forces within 35 miles of Baghdad.
On Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, there was little reported fighting.
Hundreds of Iraqi security forces were still holed up in Iraq's largest oil refinery, surrounded by ISIS fighters who were in control of the plant and the nearby town of Beiji. There were no signs that government forces were mounting an operation to rescue the troops and retake the badly-damaged facility.
The battle for the Beiji refinery has become emblematic of the Iraqi military's flailing efforts to protect the country's main cities and economic installations.
The refinery's stalled operations have already affected Iraq's oil-dependent economy.
By Wednesday, oil production for the North Oil Company, which operates the Beiji plant, had fallen to 30,000 barrels a day from a usual output of 650,000 barrels a day. The company used to send 200,000 barrels a day to the Beiji facility.
About 97% of Iraq's budget comes from oil production.
In New Delhi, India's Foreign Ministry said Friday that 40 Indian construction workers kidnapped in Iraq earlier this week were unharmed. It added that India is "knocking on all doors" to secure their release".
