BAGHDAD — Nouri Al-Maliki stuck to his guns and refused to accept his removal as Iraq’s prime minister on Wednesday, but his hold on power was tenuous as Iran’s supreme leader, a long-time Maliki ally, publicly backed his replacement.



Taking to state television as acting premier, Maliki said the Supreme Court must rule on this week’s move to ask his Shiite Islamist party colleague Haider Al-Abadi to form a new government — a change that Iran, the United States and many Iraqis see as vital to halt the advance of Islamic State militants. But while the loyalty of at least some Shiite militia and government forces remains uncertain, there were further signs that Maliki, blamed for alienating the Sunni minority during his eight years in power, is isolated, even among fellow Shiites.



US President Barack Obama — whose European allies followed his lead on Wednesday to arm Kurdish forces that have taken the recent brunt of fighting with the Islamic State — has already offered Abadi its endorsement. Washington lost patience with Maliki, who rose from obscurity during the US occupation.



Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, bound to Tehran’s US adversary by a common interest in curbing the rise of Sunni militants in Syria and Iraq, offered his personal endorsement to Abadi.



He very publicly distanced himself in the process from Maliki, who has looked for support from Iran, where he spent years in exile opposing Saddam Hussein.



“I hope the designation of the new prime minister in Iraq will untie the knot and lead to the establishment of a new government and teach a good lesson to those who aim for sedition in Iraq,” Khamenei said in a statement on his website.



Maliki has complained to the Federal Court that, as leader of the largest bloc in the new parliament, he must by right be given the first chance to form a new government.



The appointment by President Fuad Masoum of Abadi as prime minister-designate on Monday was therefore a breach of the constitution, he said. “The violation that occurred has no value, and its consequences have no effect,” Maliki said on television. — Reuters