Iraq's prime minister says politicians, rather than insurgents, are the ones ultimately responsible for the deteriorating security situation.

Taking an unusually tough stance, Nouri Maliki said only an end to political wrangling could end the bloodshed which on Thursday saw 200 killed in Baghdad.

It was the deadliest series of attacks since the US-led invasion of 2003.

Millions of people are still confined to their Baghdad homes as a curfew intended to stop reprisals continues.

Yet curfews were no solution in the long term, the prime minister indicated. "Let's be totally honest," he said. "The security situation is a reflection of political disagreement."

"The crisis is political, and it is the politicians who must try to prevent more violence and bloodletting. The terrorist acts are a reflection of the lack of political accord."

As Mr Maliki spoke, he was flanked by Vice-President Jalal Talabani and one of Iraq's most senior Sunni leaders, Tareq al-Hashimi, in what correspondents say was a deliberate show of unity.

The statement came after leading Sunni cleric Harith al-Dhari, head of Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars, called for Arab countries to withdraw their recognition of the Iraqi government.

The beleaguered Shia prime minister, who in the past has tended to blame militants not politicians, is under pressure from Sunni and Shia groups over his planned meeting with US President George W Bush on Wednesday.

His key ally, radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, has threatened to pull his followers from government and parliament if the proposed summit in Jordan goes ahead, a move that would deal a major blow to an already unstable government.

'Prepared to help'

The 24-hour curfew in Baghdad is due to remain in place until Monday, when President Talabani will finally be able to travel to Tehran, having postponed the trip when the curfew was imposed.

There are growing calls for Iran and Syria - which this week restored diplomatic ties with Baghdad after a long freeze - to be drawn into helping to curb the violence in neighboring Iraq.

On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his government would be prepared to assist if the US stops "bullying" Tehran, which rejects Washington's allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons.

"The Iranian nation is ready to help you in order to help you get out of this quagmire on the condition that you return to the pursuit of justice," he said.

"You should accept the truth and refrain from bullying and aggressive behaviour."

Iran has been accused of backing Shia militias in Iraq held responsible for killing thousands, a charge it has repeatedly denied.

A report in the New York Times meanwhile says the US government has concluded the Iraqi insurgency has become financially independent, raising tens of millions of dollars through oil smuggling and kidnappings.

Photo caption

Militia men supporting shia cleric Muqtada Sadr