The Iraqi state-run television reported on Thursday that prime minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki has named two men for the crucial ministries of defense and interior in the new government.

"The prime minister named Major General Baraa al-Rubaie (Sunni) for the defense minister and Nassir al-Amery (Shiite) for the interior minister," the Iraqiya TV reported.

The report said that Sunni Arab Salam al-Zowbaie from the Iraqi Consensus Front and Barham Salih from the Kurdish bloc were named as deputy prime ministers.

On Wednesday, a Sunni legislator said that al-Maliki will submit his new cabinet list to the parliament for approval on Saturday.

"The prime minister called on the parliament to convene Saturday to approve his government lineup and its political program," Hussein al-Falluji from the Iraqi Consensus Front told Xinhua.

The Sunni Arab bloc threatened to withdraw from the political process if it failed to get the defense portfolio.

"We have informed the incoming prime minister that if we don't get the defense minister, we will withdraw from the political process," Falluji said.

Maliki, from the dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, was nominated as premier last month.

Under the constitution, he has to form the cabinet before May 21.

But disputes over key posts delayed the formation of Iraq's first full-term government since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Source: Xinhua