Protests against high unemployment, poverty, corruption, and a lack of basic services began in the capital Baghdad on Tuesday and quickly spread to other parts of the country.
Although the protests have been mostly peaceful, security forces tried to quell the unrest with tear gas and live ammunition.
According to the latest figures from Iraq’s Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), at least 37 people have been killed and 1,329 wounded since the protests began, including civilians and security personnel.
Related: Iraq PM tells protesters ‘there are no magic solutions’ to grievances
Sistani, also known as the Marja (spiritual leader), called the scenes of violence “regrettable and painful”.
In his highly anticipated comments, Sistani deflected much of the responsibility for reform away from the government, instead calling on parliament and the judiciary to clear the way for reforms and clamp down on corruption.
“In the past days, unacceptable, condemnable assaults against peaceful protestors, security forces and public and private property have taken place in Baghdad and some provinces,” Sistani said in his sermon, read by his spokesman Sheikh Abdulmahdi al-Karbalai, on Friday.
He repeated his call for “serious steps” for reform and against corruption.
“The Marja reiterates today that it has called for in the past and calls on the three authorities [president, prime minister, and speaker of parliament] to undertake clear practical steps towards the road of true reform.”
The “biggest responsibility” for pressing ahead with such reforms falls on the shoulders of the Iraqi parliament, Sistani said, deflecting responsibility away from Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who has been in office for less than a year.
“If [parliament’s] big blocs, from which sprung the government, don’t change their program and respond to the needs and necessities of reform in a true form, then nothing of it will come out on the ground,” he said.
The judiciary and the oversight authorities “also bear a big responsibility in fighting corruption, chasing the corrupt, and retrieving the funds of the people”.
“However, they haven’t done what is necessary in this regard in the past. If things remain the same, then there is no hope in limiting the spread of corruption in the country.”
“As for the government, it has to rekindle its duties and do what it can to lessen the plight of the people by improving public services, provide job opportunities for the unemployed, and to abstain from patronage in public employment,” he added.
Only by taking these steps will the Iraqi government prevent further violence, Sistani concluded.
“We hope reason, logic, and the interest of the country take primacy with the decision-makers, those who are in a place to decide to resolve things before it is too late,” he said.
“We hope everyone realizes the dangerous repercussions of using violence, and counter-violence, in the ongoing protest movement. Let them [protesters] avoid that in all circumstances.”
Sistani’s comments indicate he still supports the government of Abdul-Mahdi and could be interpreted as throwing a lifeline to the embattled PM.
Rudaw’s reporter in Baghdad says protesters are unlikely to be impressed by Sistani’s gentle criticism of the government.
