Muqtada al-Sadr: Iraq and Its People Cannot Endure War

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned against escalating the war between Iran and the United States and involving Iraq in it. Al-Sadr stated in a message last night (Sunday): "I am not in favor of igniting the war between Iran and America, nor am I in favor of involving Iraq in this war and turning it into a battleground for Iranian-American conflict." He added, "We need a serious stand from the prominent figures to keep Iraq away from that fierce war that will consume everything and leave it in ruins," emphasizing the necessity for the Iraqi people to raise their voices against dragging Iraq into war. He stressed, "If Iraq does not stand united and seriously, that war will be the end of Iraq." The Shia leader insisted that Iraq and its people cannot bear a war, affirming the need for peace and reconstruction, and warned that any party that drags Iraq into war and turns it into a battleground will be an enemy of the Iraqi people.