ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Supporters of top Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday set up tents before Iraq’s top judicial body, preparing to stage another sit-in as they demanded the dissolution of the parliament and end of corruption.
The protestors gathered in front of the Supreme Judicial Council early in the morning, reiterating their calls for dissolving the Iraqi parliament, ending corruption, and demanding the non-politicization of the judiciary.
The latest developments in the Iraqi political scene follow Iranian calls for dialogue between rival parties to resolve issues and end the political deadlock that has engulfed the country.
#BREAKING: Supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gather in front of Iraq’s top judicial body.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) August 23, 2022
📸: Rudaw pic.twitter.com/axmVfCIX4c
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi "stressed the need for maintaining unity in Iraq, calling on main political groups there to reach an agreement on finding a way out of the existing problems through dialogue" in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iranian state media reported.
Iraq has been gripped by a major political crisis and has on repeated occasions failed to form a government over ten months after early elections in October. The political impasse in the war-torn country is attributed to disagreements between prominent Shiite cleric Sadr and rival Coordination Framework, a pro-Iran alliance.
The situation escalated late last month after supporters of both sides organized large demonstrations in Baghdad and Sadr loyalists stormed the Iraqi parliament. There are ongoing sit-ins in the capital by both sides.
Last week, Kadhimi invited Iraqi and Kurdish political leaders to a "national dialogue" session aimed at ending the deadlock in the country. The Sadrist Movement boycotted the session.
During the phone call, Kadhimi told Raisi that he will "personally follow up on those efforts."
Tehran is a major player in Baghdad and has heavy influence over the country's politics as it backs the largest Shiite parliamentary faction, the Coordination Framework, which emerged as the top faction following the withdrawal of Sadr and his 73 MPs from the legislature.
A Sunday article by the American newspaper Wall Street Journal suggested that Iran's influence over Iraq is "diminishing" due to the unwillingness of Iraqi political parties to be seen as close to their eastern neighbors.
