By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

DAMASCUS, Oct 10 (Reuters) An Iraqi member of parliament said today the Shi'ite-dominated government has fabricated corruption charges against him in revenge for his opposition to growing Iranian influence in Iraq.

Parliament voted last week to lift the immunity from prosecution of Sunni lawmaker Mishaan al-Jubouri, a foe of former President Saddam Hussein who was de facto governor of the mainly Sunni city of Mosul after the 2003 US invasion.

Investigators have accused Jubouri, who hails from one of Iraq's biggest tribes, of siphoning off millions of dollars allocated for protecting oil pipelines against saboteurs.

''I am paying the price of opposing this sectarian government of failure that follows Iran. There has been a decision to liquidate me,'' Jubouri, who has been in Syria for months, told Reuters.

''This is a fabricated case. I helped my people become members of forces protecting pipelines because it was forbidden,'' he said, referring to northern Sunni Arab tribes who oppose the US-backed government in Baghdad.

The US invasion of Iraq toppled the Sunni-led government and brought to power for the first time in centuries members of the Shi'ite majority with links to Iran.

Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish lawmakers voted on Sunday to lift Jubouri's immunity after less than an hour of discussion.

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab, was among those who called for the move.

TURNED AGAINST US Once close to Saddam, Jubouri lived in a 4 million dollars palace in Baghdad. He took part in a plot to assassinate the former Iraqi leader in 1990 but the conspiracy was uncovered while Jubouri was in Paris. He escaped arrest and became a leading member of the exiled opposition, living in Syria.

Jubouri was consulted by Washington while it planned its invasion of Iraq, but fell out with US occupation authorities over his opposition to disbanding the Iraqi army and the dismissal of Baath Party members from government.

''The Americans reneged on their agreement with us to hand power to Iraqis immediately,'' Jubouri told Reuters.

Jubouri has since been calling for the withdrawal of American forces.

He also helped hundreds of Arab Sunni officers go back to the army and used his influence and tribal connections to limit violent opposition to the government, especially in his province of Mosul and Tikrit, where Saddam was born.

Most of Iraq's Sunnis, Jubouri said, do not mind Shi'ites holding power as long as they were nationalists, such as former prime minister Iyad Allawi, a former Baathist.

''Iraq's rulers today operate in purely sectarian mentality.

They follow Iran and some follow America,'' he said. ''If the occupation packs up and leaves they won't be able to hold on to power for five days.'' REUTERS BDP HT1835