Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi president, has come in for criticism from opposition groups over what they describe as his "weak response" to Iran's seizure of an oil well that Baghdad considers its own.

Iranian soldiers seized the well in December and critics of al-Maliki say his "weak response" illustrated the prime minister's loyalty to his fellow Shia majority across the border in Iran.

Following decades of border disputes between the two countries. the Iraqi opposition is seeking to exploit the incident to its advantage ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for March.

Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports.