Arab nations are warning Iraqi politicians that they need to form a new government soon.
The Arab League said Thursday that Iraq's political factions need to come to an agreement on a national unity government, warning it is not in the country's interest to take more time.
Iraq held parliamentary elections in March but none of the political groups won enough seats for a clear majority.
Election officials say former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's bloc won 91 seats, the most of any political group. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition won 89. But 163 seats are needed for the slimmest majority.
There have been concerns about the stability of Iraq because the United States is scheduled to withdraw all forces from Iraq by the end of next year.
In an interview published Thursday in The Washington Post newspaper, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. plans to reduce troop levels in Iraq to 50,000 in the coming months even if officials there fail to form a new government.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
