Iraq’s political crisis takes another dramatic turn, as Maliki refuses to go.
![Amid the political crisis, Iraqi PM Maliki still has direct control over the Special Forces, writes al-Khoei. [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014814509781734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Hayder al-Khoei is an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, a London-based think tank on international affairs.
Iraq’s political crisis takes another dramatic turn, as Maliki refuses to go.
![Amid the political crisis, Iraqi PM Maliki still has direct control over the Special Forces, writes al-Khoei. [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014814509781734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani signals that PM Nouri al-Maliki should not cling to power.
![Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has lost the support of the Islamic Dawa Party, writes al-Khoei [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20147308341683734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)