EXPLAINER: What’s behind the storming of Iraq’s parliament?

By SAMYA KULLAB and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Followers of Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr came by the thousands to storm the country’s parliament at his command, and they rapidly dispersed with little violence. That showed his ability to mobilize his supporters amid the current political paralysis in Iraq over who will become its new prime minister. But al-Sadr has a powerful rival in former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and his nomination of a pro-Iran candidate to lead the country was what drew al-Sadr’s followers into the streets. The political impasse has immobilized the already-fragile state, with no clear resolution. And Iran is working behind the scenes to unite a fragmented Shiite Muslim elite, which could disturb Iraq’s delicate political balance.