Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Rival Shia groups square off over Iraq leadership vacuum

Rival Shia groups square off over Iraq leadership vacuum

Thousands of Moqtada al-Sadr’s followers prayed outside parliament in a show of support for the populist leader who has called on the judiciary to dissolve parliament by the end of next week.

Rival Iraqi factions took to the streets of Baghdad to call for a new government with supporters of religious scholar Moqtada al-Sadr demanding early elections and his Iran-backed opponents saying the results of last October’s poll should be honoured.

Thousands of al-Sadr’s followers prayed outside parliament on Friday in a show of support for the populist leader who has called on the judiciary to dissolve parliament by the end of next week.

Hours later, supporters of Iran-backed groups opposed to al-Sadr rallied on the edge of the fortified Green Zone, where parliament and foreign embassies are located, insisting they should form the new government based on the October election.

Followers of al-Sadr stormed the parliament last month and have since been holding a sit-in outside the assembly building in the Iraqi capital.

The rivalry between the two sides shows the deep divisions within Iraq’s Shia community, which makes up about 60 percent of Iraq’s population of more than 40 million people. Unlike Iran-backed groups, al-Sadr wants better ties with Arab countries, including Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which is Iran’s main rival in the region.

Al-Sadr has also been a harsh critic of widespread corruption in the oil-rich country torn by decades of US-led war and subsequent violence, with a crumbling infrastructure, an impoverished majority, and a lack of basic services.

Al-Sadr, whose camp won the most votes in parliamentary elections last October, has not been able to form a majority government and after eight months of deadlock and jockeying with rival factions, he abandoned those attempts.

Members of al-Sadr’s parliamentary bloc resigned but instead of allowing his rivals — the Coordination Framework — to try and form a government, al-Sadr has demanded parliament be dissolved and early elections are held. It is unclear whether he has any legal basis for those demands.


‘Occupation of parliament’

Friday’s protest and counter-protest were the latest in a series of demonstrations that have raised fears of unrest if the political deadlock continues.

Religious and political leaders command the loyalty of huge numbers of people and militia groups operate independently from the central government. The impasse, now in its 10th month, is the longest in the country since the 2003 US-led invasion wreaked havoc on the political order.

“We are protesting against the occupation of parliament and those who threaten the judiciary,” said university student Abbas Salem who was part of the rally Friday by Iran-backed groups.

Salem carried a poster of a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani and a top Iraqi Shia militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in a US drone raid in January 2020. He said he worries if al-Sadr forms a government, he will disband the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella of mostly Iran-backed Shia militias.

Another protester, Ahmad al-Maliki, 52, said they are opposed to al-Sadr followers’ “occupation of parliament” and added Iraq needs a new government as soon as possible.



‘No going back’


Meanwhile, al-Sadr’s supporters in Baghdad and most Iraqi Shia-dominated provinces — except for the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala — held their own rallies and performed Friday prayers outdoors in a show of strength.

In Baghdad, most were dressed in black to mark the Muslim month of Muharram and some wore white capes symbolising burial shrouds and their willingness to die for their cause.

“You will not break Iraq as long as Sadr is here,” an imam told the crowd from a big red stage set up outside parliament. “There is no going back from this revolution … and the people will not give up their demands.”

In the intense summer heat, men picked their way through the worshippers and sprayed them with cold water. Some carried portraits of al-Sadr and his father, also a prominent Muslim scholar, as well as Iraqi flags.

Al-Sadr counts millions of Iraqis among his followers and has shown he can still stir up gatherings by hundreds of thousands of supporters, mostly working-class Shia Muslims, if he needs to exert political pressure.

Hamid Hussain, a father of five, said, “I am here to call for an early election and make sure that all the corrupt faces are excluded from the upcoming elections… I became unemployed because of the corrupt parties.”

As night fell, protesters supporting the pro-Iran groups started setting up tents to begin an open-ended sit-in until their demands are met.

“Today we will stage a sit-in …The people cannot handle another election … we are tired,” said Mohamed Yasin, 35, day labourer.



Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
×