Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric calls on PM to ramp up anti-corruption fight

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on the prime minister on Friday to "strike with an iron fist" those who engage in corruption, adding his voice to protests against officials who many Iraqis blame for power cuts.

Iraqis fed up with unreliable power in sweltering heat surpassing 50 degrees Celsius and years of corruption have demonstrated in Baghdad and cities in the south in recent weeks.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last month ordered cuts to top officials' salaries and their share of state-subsidised power supplied to their homes.

But such public anger could complicate the government's attempts to rally support in its fight to push Islamic State militants from the tracts of territory they hold in the north and west of the country.

"What is needed from him (Abadi) is to be more daring and braver in his reforms and not to suffice with some secondary steps which he announced recently," Sistani's aide Ahmed al-Safi said in a Friday sermon.

"The people ... will assist him in achieving that."

The reclusive Sistani, who is seen as a voice of reason in the deeply divided country, usually delivers his Friday sermons through an aide.

Sistani, an octogenarian whose authority few Iraqi politicians would dare openly challenge, called on Abadi, a moderate Shi'ite, to pursue reform without regard for political affiliation or sect.

For years, political agreements have divided government positions based on a sectarian sharing system, which has been criticised for promoting unqualified candidates and producing mismanagement and corruption.

"He should strike with an iron fist those who tamper with the people's money ... (He needs) to point to those who slow down reform no matter who they are or what position they hold," Sistani's aide said.

"(Abadi) should place the right man in the right position, even if he is not a member of the ruling parties and regardless of his sectarian or ethnic affiliation."

Shortly after the sermon ended, Abadi said on his official Facebook page that he was committed to Sistani's guidance.

"I promise to announce a comprehensive reform plan ... and I call on the political forces to cooperate with me to implement the reform programme," the post said.

Abadi, who has sought reconciliation between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni communities, has come to rely more on Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias to counter Islamic State offensives in the wake of the weakening of government forces.

(Reporting by Saif Hameed; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Alison Williams)