US Vice-President Joe Biden has urged Iraqi leaders to work together to avert¹ renewed sectarian strife².

美国副总统乔·拜登敦促伊拉克领导人共同合作以避免新一轮宗派斗争。

The White House said Mr Biden had expressed his concerns in a phone call to Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

It comes after an arrest warrant was issued for Iraq's Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi, on terror charges.

That sparked fears that Iraq's fragile year-old unity³ government could fall apart, shortly after the last US soldiers left the country.

Fighting between Sunnis and Shia left thousands dead in the tit-for-tat attacks of 2006-2007.

The entire al-Iraqiyya Sunni political bloc⁴ is boycotting⁵ parliament and the cabinet in protest at the warrant, while the Sunni Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak has said Iraq is facing "chaos⁶ and disaster".

Mr Hashemi, who is now in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan Region, has denied any wrongdoing.

'I blame Maliki'

In a statement, the White House said Mr Biden had spoken separately with Mr Maliki and parliamentary Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi to discuss the political situation and to stress Washington's "commitment to a long-term strategic partnership⁷ with Iraq".

He told them of the importance of an inclusive（包含的） government and of "acting⁸ in a manner consistent with the rule of law and Iraq's constitution".

"The vice-president also stressed the urgent need for the prime minister and the leaders of the other major blocs⁹ to meet and work through their differences together," the statement said.

The last US troops left Iraq on Sunday, eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The next day, Iraq's interior ministry¹⁰ announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Mr Hashemi. It said members of his security detail had confessed to carrying out terror attacks.

State-run television broadcast what were said to be the men's confessions¹¹（自白，招供） .

Mr Hashemi has said the accusations¹² are "fabricated". He has accused Mr Maliki of being behind a plot to discredit¹³ him and blow apart recent attempts at national reconciliation¹⁴.

"All the efforts that have been exerted to reach national reconciliation and to unite Iraq are now gone. So yes, I blame Maliki," he said.