(dpa) - Lebanon's Shiite House Speaker Nabih Berri postponed a presidential vote Monday for the 16th time after all Arab and European efforts failed to solve Lebanon's political stalemate.
"Tuesday's session is postponed from March 11 to March 25," a statement by Berri's office said.
The country has been without a head of state since Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term on November 23, 2007.
MP Wael Bou Faour of the ruling March 14 Forces coalition accused the opposition of blocking a solution, especially mediation by Arab League chief Amr Mussa, under orders from Damascus.
"The election is tied to a political agreement. I do not expect a session on Tuesday because the same obstacles remain," he said.
Mussa has made several trips to Lebanon to try to break the impasse between the majority, backed by the West and most Arab states, and the opposition, backed by Syria and Iran.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat daily quoted Arab diplomatic sources as saying over the weekend that Iran wants an "organized vacuum in Lebanon" by leaving the presidency empty until the 2009 parliamentary polls.
"The Iranians prefer to delay Lebanon's presidential election to after a new US president is elected," the sources said. The current occupant of the White House, George W Bush, leaves office in January 2009.