The announcement of the Iraqi Shiite cleric Kazem Al-Haeri, who is in Iran, almost pushed Iraq to the brink of a bloody war last week, and only the 92-year-old Iraqi Shiite authority, Ali Al-Sistani, had the ability to prevent this.

Al-Sistani did not issue a public comment regarding the unrest that erupted in the streets of Iraq recently, but government officials and well-informed Shiite sources say that only Sistani's behind-the-scenes stance defused the disaster that was nearly expanding last week.

Iraqis who took to the streets blamed Tehran for fueling the violence that began after Haeri (who lives in Iran) denounced Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr and instructed his followers, including Sadr himself, to obey the order of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Following Al-Haeri's intervention, Al-Sadr announced his retirement from politics, and then the supporters of the Sadrist movement, the sit-in in the vicinity of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, stormed government buildings, including the presidential palace in the Green Zone, and by nightfall they were driving around Baghdad in pickup trucks brandishing machine guns and rocket launchers.

Then gunmen fired on stone-throwing Sadrist protesters, and at least 30 people were killed and hundreds injured.

Then, within 24 hours, it ended as abruptly as it had begun, Sadr appeared on television and called for calm, his armed and unarmed supporters began leaving the streets, the Iraqi army lifted the curfew, and a fragile calm fell over the capital.

There is no clear successor to Sistani, who decisively intervened in critical moments in the history of Iraq since the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and little is known about his health despite his advanced age.


behind the scenes

Seeking to understand how the unrest broke out and how it was quelled, Reuters spoke with nearly 20 officials from the Iraqi government, the Sadrist movement, and rival Shiite factions seen as pro-Iran;

Most of them spoke on condition of anonymity.

All the interviews pointed to decisive behind-the-scenes interference by Sistani, who is the most influential cleric in Najaf, the Shiite religious center in Iraq.

According to the officials, Sistani's office has sought to make it clear to Sadr that unless he stops the violence of his followers, Sistani will denounce the unrest.

An Iraqi government official said, "Sistani sent a message to Sadr that if he did not stop the violence, Sistani would be forced to issue a statement calling for the fighting to stop, and this would make Sadr look weak, as if he had caused bloodshed in Iraq."

Three Shiite figures based in Najaf and close to Sistani did not confirm that his office sent an explicit message to Sadr, but they said it was clear to Sadr that Sistani would speak soon unless Sadr stopped the unrest.

A pro-Iranian official in the region said that without Sistani's office, "Muqtada al-Sadr would not have held his press conference" that stopped the fighting.

Violence erupted in Iraq last week after Haeri announced his retirement from public life and closed his office due to his advanced age.

This is a virtually unprecedented step in Shiite history, where senior clerics are usually venerated even after their death.

Muhammad Muhammad Sadeq al-Sadr (the father of al-Sadr), also a prominent Shiite religious authority who was killed in 1999 during the era of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, had chosen al-Haeri as a spiritual guide for al-Sadr's movement after him.

pic.twitter.com/XKAzl1O3OP

- Muqtada al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr (@Mu_AlSadr) August 29, 2022

In announcing al-Haeri's retirement from public life, he denounced al-Sadr for causing divisions among Shiites, and called on his followers to obey the order of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Al-Sadr has made it clear publicly that he blames outside parties for Haeri's interference, an implicit reference to Tehran.

And he said on Twitter, "...the reference's retirement was not of his own free will."

A prominent member of the Sadrist movement based in Baghdad said that Sadr was angry. "Al-Haeri was Sadr's spiritual guide. Al-Sadr considered this a betrayal aimed at robbing his religious legitimacy as a Shiite leader, at a time when Iranian-backed groups are struggling for power."

Officials in the Sadrist movement in Najaf said that this step meant that Sadr had to choose between obeying his Haeri spiritual guide and following Khamenei, or rejecting him and perhaps angering older figures in his movement who were close to Sadr's father.

Instead, al-Sadr announced his withdrawal from political life completely, in a move that prompted his followers to take to the streets.

Shiite experts say that Haeri's move to close his office and direct his followers to obey the Iranian leader would have looked suspicious anyway in the Iraqi context, where allusions to Iranian interference are very clear.

Concerning Iranian intervention in Haeri's statement, some thoughts:


1- It is uncommon for a Marjaa to resign & close his offices.

Marjaa are frequently older & have a cadre of family & students supporting them, "health issues" and "old age" don't seem to be compelling reasons 👇🏼 https://t.co/K9KYchSRUn

— Marsin Alshamary Marsin Alshamary (@MarsinRA) August 29, 2022

"There is strong reason to believe this is a result of Iranian pressure, but we should not forget that Haeri has also had differences with Sadr in the past," said Marcin Al-Shammari, a researcher at Harvard Kennedy School.

She added, "He directs his followers to follow Khamenei at a time when there is no (religious) necessity to do so, and it seems unlikely that someone in his stature would close his potentially very profitable offices."

As the armed battles raged in central Baghdad, Al-Sadr remained silent for nearly 24 hours.


At that time, Shiite religious figures from all over Iraq tried to persuade Sadr to stop the violence, and officials in Iran and Lebanon said Shiite figures in both countries had joined in the effort, adding that pressure was directed at Sadr through Sistani's office in Najaf.

An Iraqi government official said, "The Iranians do not interfere directly. They are affected by the strong reaction against their influence in Iraq, and they are trying to influence events from afar."

Al-Sadr insists on holding new elections, while some Iranian-backed groups want to move forward to form a government.

The government remained largely silent, and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said last Tuesday that he would step down if violence continued, in a statement issued hours after the fighting had already stopped.