The Iraqiya alliance led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi edged out his chief rival in the March 7 parliamentary election by just two seats. But neither Iraqiya nor the State of Law alliance led by Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki won enough to form a government alone.

Since the election, Iraq's political groups have been jockeying to broker partnerships to win control of the Parliament — in part by courting the support of Iraq's neighbors in the Mideast.

In a statement Thursday, Iraqiya spokeswoman Maysoun Al-Damlouji said a delegation to Tehran promised Iranian leaders that “the Iraqiya movement will not allow the use of Iraqi land and airspace for launching an attack on Iran.” Iran sees the presence of tens of thousands of US forces in Iraq as a threat, although a security agreement between the Iraqi and US governments bars the use of Iraqi territory for aggression.

Iraq has been dominated by Shiite parties close to Iran since the fall of Saddam Hussein. And during the election campaign, Allawi spoke out often against Iran's influence in Iraq.

But in a surprising announcement last week, Iran's ambassador in Baghdad singled out Iraqiya in saying all of Iraq's major coalitions should play a part in the new government.

Though it was not an endorsement of a government led by Allawi, it was still a significant shift for Iran, which has promoted Shiite power since Saddam was toppled.

Following the Iraqiya visit, Iranian state TV reported that Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani again expressed hope that all Iraqi political groups would “participate in the future of Iraq, based on their political weight.” Al-Damlouji said Iran had expressed an interest in having “Iraqiya play a role in building bridges with other countries in the region,” which are primarily Sunni-led.

It was not clear why Iran has changed its stance. But Tehran may be worried that excluding the top vote getter with its strong Sunni backing could lead to a return of the sectarian violence and possibly delay a US troop withdrawal.

In comments Thursday on Arabiya television that appeared directed at reports that Al-Maliki's party was close to forming an alliance with the Shiite Iraqi National Alliance bloc, President Jalal Talabani said Allawi's secular Iraqiya alliance had to be involved in any new government.

The INA came in third in the election, and gaining some or all of its support is considered vital to whichever party will form the next government.

“We will focus all our efforts on allowing all to take part, without the exclusion of any party,” said Talabani, who visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks with King Abdullah and other leaders of the influential regional power.

“In the past, we rejected the marginalization of the list headed by brother Dr. Allawi and now we will again refuse any attempt to marginalize this list again,” he said.

As the parties have struggled to form a government there has been an uptick in violence that has been blamed on Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and security officials believe the terror network is trying to regroup amid the political disarray.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Aqeel Hadi Kawthar said Thursday an airport in southern Iraq would reopen for domestic flights by Saturday, more than a week after its closure due to a purported 9/11-style plot by Al-Qaeda's affiliate to fly hijacked planes into Shiite holy shrines.

He said it was not clear when international flights would resume at the airport near the holy city of Najaf, which is home to the gold-domed Imam Ali shrine, one of the world's most revered Shiite mosques.

The announcement came a day after intelligence officials in Baghdad and Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said the Sunni-dominated Al-Qaeda in Iraq was planning to attack Shiite religious sites in an attempt to rekindle sectarian violence that brought the country to the bring of civil war several years ago.

Outside the city of Samarra, about 95 km north of Baghdad, authorities found the decomposed remains of 14 men in an abandoned well, a police officer said. A hospital official confirmed the number.

The men were believed to be the victims of Al-Qaeda, which had a strong presence in the area between 2006 and 2008, the police officer said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the press.