With the political future of Iraq still hanging in the balance, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, leader of a coalition of powerful Shiite parties backed by Iran, met with leaders of the Islamic republic in Tehran on Monday.
Al-Maliki's opponent, who leads a more secular coalition, has accused Iran of fomenting unrest in Iraq.
Iran, in turn, urged Iraq to quickly form a new government and blamed the United States for the insecurity, according to state-run Press TV.
"Despite relative stability in Iraq, the country is still suffering from insecurity and part of this insecurity is resulted from the pressures that are exerted by some powers whose political interests lie in creating insecurity in Iraq," said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.