Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister, Adil Abdul Mahdi has met with the newly appointed prime minister-designate, Mohammed Allawi to congratulate him. The two discussed ways to smoothly transition power based on constitutional and democratic factors. Mahdi also pledged full support for the next government. Soon after Allawi was appointed, protesters gathered in the capital Baghdad and other cities, rejecting Allawi as part of the ruling elite. Meanwhile, an influential cleric has called on supporters to hold sit-ins to support the new prime minister. Asia Today invited Middle East Analyst Meir Javedanfar to discuss Iraq's politics and how will the new PM deal with Iraq's relations with Iran and the U.S.