Muqtada al-Sadr: Iran’s policies have only brought woes to the regionBaxtiyar Goran Sunday, 21 May 2017
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The prominent Iraqi Shia cleric called upon the newly-elected president of Iran to stay away from policies that cause adversity in the Middle East.
In a statement, Muqtada al-Sadr, the influential Shia cleric in Iraq, called upon Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani to steer clear of policies which create a negative effect in the region and that have only brought woes to Iran and nearby nations.
In the presidential elections, held on May 19, Rouhani was re-elected with more than 57 percent of the vote. His main challenger, hardline judge Ebrahim Raisi, received 38 percent.
Sadr, in a congratulatory message to president-elect Rouhani, called on Iran to apply a more open policy toward certain nations in the Middle East and to abandon political diviseness and sectarian conflict.
The Shia cleric added that Iran has a strong influence in the region and has a responsibility to bring peace and stability to its country and neighboring states, underscoring the fact that the situation in the region has become unstable and unmanageable.
Muqtada al-Sadr, who also has an armed militia in Iraq known as the Saraya al-Salam, has close ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Editing by G.H. Renaud
