Top Iraq court rejects bid to dissolve parliament

Baghdad: Iraq’s top court rejected a bid by influential cleric Moqtada Sadr to dissolve parliament in the Opec member state, a move that could spark further unrest after last month’s deadly clashes over the political standoff in Baghdad.

The Federal Supreme Court rebuffed the demand on Wednesday, Iraq’s state news agency said.

Iraq has been at a political impasse since Sadr’s party won the most seats in parliamentary elections last October. He has not formed a government with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals, and a fragile caretaker government has been in place.

The recent clashes erupted late last month when Sadr said he was quitting politics in protest at the deadlock. His supporters stormed the government palace.

That violence didn’t spread to the oil-producing hub of Basra or other important oil-rich areas to the north of Baghdad. But the general turmoil has fueled unease about Iraq’s stability. The Iraqi military enforced a nationwide curfew.