Iraqi Sunni Muslim cleric accuses Maliki government of supporting Assad

ISTANBUL

An Iraqi Sunni Muslim scholar has accused Nouri al-Maliki's government sending aid to Syria's embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, saying the Iraqi leader sided with Iran in supporting the Damascus regime.

"Vehicles of the Iraqi goverment are carrying fuel and weapons to the Syrian regime. Al-Maliki is acting with Iran and Damascus in a unified front," Sheikh Muhammad Bashar al-Faid, spokesperson of Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars, told the Anadolu Agency.    
Al-Faid also accused Iran of meddling in Iraq's internal affairs, saying Tehran was trying bolster its influence in Syria and Lebanon as well.     
"Victory of the Syrian opposition will mean the fall of the Iran's clout in the region. Iraq is also a key point for Iran. If it loses its influence in Iraq, it will lose its clout in the world. Iraq will either be a gateway to the world for Iran or it will be its grave," Al-Faid said.
Reporting by Mohammad Sheikh Yousef