‘With the click of a finger’: Moqtada al-Sadr calls an end to Iraq’s wave of violence Firebrand cleric shows off his political power by turning on and off violence The Independent UK · Aug 30, 2022
EXPLAINER: What spurred the bloody armed clashes in Baghdad? Iraq witnessed bloody street violence for nearly 24 hours spurred by loyalists of a powerful Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, that was the culmination of a 10-month power struggle The Independent UK · Aug 30, 2022
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urges supporters to withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone, with dozens dead Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr calls on followers to withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone, after days of unrest. ABC News · Aug 30, 2022
Who are the rival Shiite politicians vying to fill Iraq’s political vacuum? Ten months after the October 2021 parliamentary elections, Iraq is still mired in a political impasse that turned deadly Monday after Moqtada al-Sadr announced his resignation from politics. Supporters of the powerful cleric clashed with followers of rival Shiite parties, plunging Iraq into a crisis that could draw in regional… France 24 · Aug 30, 2022
Nicholas Goldberg: Remember when we thought George W. Bush was the worst president ever? Twenty years ago next month, President George W. Bush stood before the United Nations and warned that Saddam Hussein's Iraq was a "grave and gathering danger," setting the stage for an invasion six months later based on false premises about super-destructive weapons and purported connections to the 9/11 attacks. Los Angeles Times · Aug 30, 2022
Iraq's Sadr: from outlaw to top politician Populist Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, once a mercurial outlaw wanted dead or alive during the U.S. occupation, rose to become a political kingmaker and Iraq's most powerful figure. Reuters · Aug 29, 2022
Lawrence Freedman: ‘Autocracies tend to make catastrophic decisions. That’s the case with Putin’ The military strategy expert and author of a new book on conflict says the flawed thinking behind Russia’s invasion stems from the inability of those at the top to take responsibility for mistakes The Guardian - UK · Aug 21, 2022
Ali Saleh to Saddam: War is Happening... Goal is to Destroy the Iraqi Army Dr. Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 20, 2022
Saddam Relative Arrested in Lebanon, Family Pleads Against Turning him over to Iraq News broke out in Lebanon on Friday of the authorities’ arrest of Abdullah Yasser Sabawi al-Hassan, the grandson of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, the step-brother of late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein. Abdullah was arrested according to an Interpol arrest warrant that was requested by Iraq. He was detained in Lebanon on… Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 20, 2022
Is moral clarity possible in Trump's US? What it means to dig deeply for moral clarity against the prevailing headwinds of disengagement and disinformation Salon · Aug 17, 2022
Who are the Shiite politicians vying to rule Iraq amid its political impasse? Majority-Shiite Iraq has been paralysed by political gridlock for nearly a year. Tensions are mounting between two powerful Shiite factions: one loyal to nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, on the one hand, and an alliance of pro-Iran interests led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the other. FRANCE 24 looks… France 24 · Aug 14, 2022
Sadr Calls for Saving Iraq from Occupation, Terrorism, Corruption Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, has unleashed a show of popular force driven by slogans of dissolving the parliament, holding early elections, and discrediting the legitimacy of authorities that took over the country after the ouster of President Saddam Hussein in 2003. While followers of… Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 13, 2022
Followers of Iraq's Sadr pray at Saddam-era parade ground Tens of thousands of followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr prayed on Friday at an iconic Baghdad military parade ground built by the late President Saddam Hussein, in yet another symbolic display of Sadr's sway over much of the Iraqi people. Reuters · Aug 5, 2022
In Baghdad's Sadr City, cleric's support underpins protests Residents of the impoverished Baghdad suburb of Sadr City say they they support an influential Shiite cleric who called on thousands of his followers to storm Iraq's parliament The Independent UK · Aug 5, 2022
Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 2, 2022 Crisis in Iraq Tests its Stability and Iran’s Sway A power struggle in Iraq between the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and rivals aligned with Iran is testing Tehran's ability to stave off a conflict that could damage its interests and further destabilize the oil-rich country. With Sadr supporters camped out in parliament and his opponents protesting in the streets,…
Reuters · Aug 2, 2022 Analysis-Crisis in Iraq tests its stability and Iran's sway A power struggle in Iraq between the Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and rivals aligned with Iran is testing Tehran's ability to stave off a conflict that could damage its interests and further destabilise the oil-rich country.
Reuters · Aug 1, 2022 Factbox-Iraq’s competing Shi’ite groups Shi’ite Muslim political and paramilitary groups are escalating a tense political standoff which many Iraqis worry could lead to new conflict in the country.
Asharq Al-Awsat · Jul 31, 2022 What’s Driving the Power Struggle in Iraq? A power struggle in Iraq between the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iran-backed Shiite rivals has escalated with his supporters breaking into parliament and beginning an open-ended sit-in protest. The tussle over who gets to form the next government has deepened a fissure in the Shiite community that has…
Reuters · Jul 31, 2022 Explainer: What's driving the power struggle in Iraq? A power struggle in Iraq between the influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr and Iran-backed Shi'ite rivals has escalated with his supporters breaking into parliament and beginning an open-ended sit-in protest.
Al Jazeera · Jul 31, 2022 Hundreds of protesters camp at Iraq parliament for a second day Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr erect tents and prepare for a sit-in protesting his rivals’ efforts to form a government.
Tribune News Service · Jul 29, 2022 Martin Schram: Veterans become political pawns It was four in the afternoon on March 10, 1991, when the first planned explosion of Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons went off at the U.S. weapons depot in Khamisiyah, Iraq, and the first gray-white smoke cloud that would come to be called The Plume wafted skyward and drifted over the…
The Independent UK · Jul 28, 2022 Iraq: Hundreds of Muqtada al-Sadr supporters storm parliament Protesters walk on tables and sit in chairs of MPs
Reuters · Jul 27, 2022 Deadlock gives Iraq record run without government, hampering reforms Iraq marked its longest post-election deadlock on Wednesday as infighting among Shi'ite and Kurdish groups in particular prevents the formation of a government, hampering reforms needed as the country struggles to recover from decades of conflict.
Radio France Internationale · Jul 22, 2022 Belgium-Iran treaty clears the way for Paris attack suspect to return home Belgian MPs have voted to ratify a fiercely criticised treaty allowing prisoner exchanges with Iran, potentially opening the way for an Iranian diplomat jailed on terrorism charges to return home.
Radio France Internationale · Jul 21, 2022 Belgium-Iran treaty clears the way for Paris attack suspect to return home Belgian MPs voted on Wednesday to ratify a fiercely-criticised treaty allowing prisoner exchanges with Iran, potentially opening the way for an Iranian diplomat jailed on terrorism charges to return home.