Baghdad - Iraqi Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani announced his resignation on Wednesday after lawmakers engaged in a quarrel over the reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush. Al-Zaidi, who has worked for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya since 2005, faces the Iraqi Criminal Court for throwing his shoes at Bush during a press conference on Sunday as he shouted in Arabic: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."
Bush, who was standing next to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, reacted quickly and dodged both shoes.
"Lawmakers belonging to the Kurdistan Alliance left the meeting and were followed by the United Iraqi Alliance bloc," said Omar Abdel Sattar, member of the United Iraqi Alliance, which al-Mashhadani belongs to.
"This scene angered al-Mashhadani, who announced his immediate resignation," added Abdel Sattar.
The lawmaker added that al-Mashhadani is known for his quick temper, and that he might have taken his quick decision due to the chaos.
"We are trying to call him to learn whether he is serious in this decision or that he was only angry at the members' actions," said Abdel Sattar.
