BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected an attempt by Iran to persuade him to step down, senior Iraqi politicians said Wednesday, underlining his determination to defy even his top ally to push for a third term in office and further exacerbating the country’s political crisis.

Al-Maliki has for weeks been resisting growing pressure for him to step aside, including from former Shiite political allies and from Iraq’s top Shiite spiritual authority. His critics see the Shiite prime minister as too divisive to form a government that can win support from the Sunni minority against the militant-led Sunni insurgency that has seized control of a large swath of the country.