Reuters - Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani is holding talks with politicians in Baghdad to promote the formation of a new Iraqi cabinet which would have Iran�s approval, two people familiar with the political process underway in Iraq said on Wednesday.

Gen. Soleimani, commander of foreign operations for Iran�s elite Revolutionary Guards, arrived in Iraq on Saturday, the day of the parliamentary election.

Initial nationwide results showed a surprise victory for the bloc that supports populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia not aligned with Iran who campaigned on a nationalist platform, tapping into public resentment against widespread corruption and huge social disparities.

Gen. Soleimani is holding talks with rival politicians to pave the way for an agreement to form a Shia ruling coalition, said a person acting as an intermediary between Sadr, other senior politicians and a Shi�ite candidate.

Formal talks to set up a governing coalition will start after the announcement of the final results, expected later this week.

Before the election, Iran publicly stated it would not allow Sadr�s bloc - an unlikely alliance of Shias, communists and other secular groups - to govern.

For his part, Sadr has made clear he is unwilling to compromise with Iran by forming a coalition with its main allies, Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr paramilitary group, and former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki.

A tally by Reuters of provincial results announced over the past three days shows Sadr�s list leading, followed by Amiri, a close ally of Iran and a friend of Gen. Soleimani, and then outgoing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Abadi managed to rally the support of both Iran and the United States in Iraq�s three-year war on Islamic State.

Saturday�s election was the first since the defeat last year of the militants who had overran a third of Iraq in 2014. Gen. Soleimani�s Quds Force is the main foreign backer of Amiri�s Badr, which served as the backbone of Popular Mobilisation, a volunteers force set up to fight Islamic State.


Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean