U.S. official says backs Iraq president after Maliki vows to stay on

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official for Iraq said on Sunday he fully supported Iraqi President Fouad Masoum after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who the United States has blamed for stoking Iraq's security crisis, accused Masoum of violating the constitution. "Fully support President of Iraq Fouad Masoum as guarantor of the Constitution and a (prime minister) nominee who can build a national consensus," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk said on his Twitter feed. In a tough televised speech likely to deepen political tensions as a Sunni insurgency rages, Maliki indicated that he will not drop his bid for a third term and accused the president of violating the constitution. (Reporting By Missy Ryan; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)