Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi submitted his resignation to the parliament, calling on Iraqi lawmakers to elect a successor as soon as possible.

Iran PressMiddle East: Addressing a cabinet meeting Saturday, Abdul Mahdi said that the government took over in extremely complicated and difficult internal and external conditions, and after one year it has now reached the endpoint for another government to replace it.

Adil Abdul Mahdi added that his government has succeeded in improving Iraq's relations with the countries of the world and as well as in fighting corruption in various sectors, including the oil sector.

"If parliament approves the resignation, an acting head of government will take over the affairs of the country," the outgoing Iraqi prime minister said.

Abdul Mahdi stressed that he resigned in response to a call for a change of leadership on Friday by Iraq's top religious authority Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali al-Sistani.

He also said that his government had exerted every effort to prevent the bloodshed of the people but someones turned the people's demonstrations to riots.

The new round of popular demonstrations in Iraq in a peaceful manner began as of October 25, in various cities, including Baghdad the capital, Karbala, Basra, Najaf and other cities in protest at corruption and the poor state of the economy.

The Iraqis peaceful protests are aimed at forcing the government to meet their demands.

The demonstrations have turned violent with the Iraqi government blaming Iraq's enemies for supporting and funding violent protests in Iraq.

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