Iraq's Sistani signals U.S. pact up to parliament

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, signaled on Tuesday he would leave it to lawmakers to decide the fate of a pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for three years.

A statement from his office said parliament should decide whether to accept the deal but must approve it only if it restores Iraq's sovereignty.

"The representatives of the Iraqi people in parliament must take on a big responsibility in this case and each must be up to this historic responsibility before God and the people," it said.

U.S. officials have interpreted Sistani's position as effectively stepping out of the political debate on the issue.

"Ayatollah Sistani's views are that the political leaders need to take political decisions," a senior U.S. official involved in the pact negotiations said on Monday.

Iraq and the United States on Monday signed the long-awaited pact requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011, eight years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

But the agreement must still be approved by Iraq's parliament, which the government views as likely next week.

Followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr oppose the pact altogether, and the largest Sunni Arab bloc, the Accordance Front, says it should be put to the public in a referendum. But the main political groups in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition have now lined up behind it.

Sistani, who was largely silent on the deal while it was being negotiated, wields vast influence on majority Shi'ites.

He stayed out of politics during Saddam Hussein's time but emerged as one of Iraq's most powerful men after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. A negative word from him could have been enough to sink the pact in parliament.

"What Sistani told political leaders is that it is necessary to end the foreign presence in any deal," the statement from his office said. It said the deal should be approved only if it meets two conditions: restoring Iraqi sovereignty and securing the agreement of Iraq's main communities and political groups.

"Sistani said any deal does not apply these two conditions ... cannot be accepted and will cause more suffering," it said.

Iran, which also has much influence among Iraqi Shi'ite politicians, opposes the pact.

Ali Larijani, Iran's parliament speaker on Tuesday urged Iraqi lawmakers to resist the deal, saying Washington's main aim was "strengthening comprehensive U.S. hegemony in Iraq."

(Reporting by Khaled Farhan in Najaf and Peter Graff in Baghdad; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Matthew Jones)