BEIRUT - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged regional
countries on Monday to work for unity in Iraq, which has seen weeks of protests
against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, warning that any disturbance
there would affect the whole Middle East.
"If a fire breaks out it will
burn everyone," Ahmadinejad, speaking through a translator, said in an interview
with Al Mayadeen television. "I said with all honesty, those who are interfering
will be subject to harm".
A suicide bomber attacked a government-backed
militia in Iraq on Monday, killing at least 22 people. It was the seventh
suicide bombing in a month in Iraq.