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An Iraqi newspaper on Thursday criticized the government for setting up a fact-finding committee to investigate Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs, while another paper slammed government officials, citing their poor performance and their attempts to claim authority for themselves.

Dar al-Salam newspaper, the daily mouthpiece of the Iraqi Islamic Party led by Tareq Hashem, said in an article entitled, 'Security committee to examine interference,' that the interference of neighbor Iran in Iraq's domestic affairs is as clear as day. The newspaper said that while some Iraqi politicians expressed their keenness for a new round of U.S.-Iranian talks, which they said will best serve Iraq's interests, Iranians have set conditions for the resumption of negotiations. Quoting an Iranian news agency, the newspaper said that an Iranian delegate called on the U.S. forces to stop "its acts of aggression against the Iraqi people" as a condition for the resumption of talks, in reference to the campaign launched by the government against militia groups in Baghdad and Basra.

"We have never heard of Iranian objections to military operations in Iraq, except for those that have been carried out by joint forces since last month… In fact, the role that Iran played in the occupation of Iraq, which is no longer deniable, does not harmonize with its recent concerns and objections to the aggression against the Iraqi people," the newspaper said.

The newspaper said that the fact-finding committee will be comprised of representatives from the security ministries and government officials, which it said need no further proof of Iranian interference in Iraq.

Meanwhile, al-Daawa, a daily newspaper issued by the Islamic Daawa Party, Iraq Organization, blamed the current destruction and the deteriorating political situation on Iraqi politicians, whom it said are derailing the progress of democracy in the country.

"Participants of the political process should have a national and ethical responsibility to the public," the newspaper wrote, calling on politicians to unify and tolerate differences.

Al-Mawqif, an independent daily, lamented the decline in moral standards and the spread of violence in Iraqi society, which it said has been aspiring for freedom and democracy throughout four decades of its history.

The newspaper further called on religious, social and cultural institutions to rehabilitate society and to foster an understanding of the principles of justice and tolerance in young people.