Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
Iraq’s leading cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on Friday renewed his support to the protest camps across the country, as security forces stepped up a crackdown against demonstrators.
Protesters across Iraq are seeking the removal of what they see as a corrupt ruling elite and an end to foreign interference in Iraqi politics, which has come to dominate state institutions since dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled in a 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Sistani, who delivered his message through a representative at Friday prayers in the holy city of Kerbala, also renewed calls for early elections to be held freely and fairly.
“It is imperative to hurry and hold an early election for the people to have their say, and for the next parliament to be formed from their free will, to take the necessary steps towards reform,” he said.
He said that the next parliament would be able “to take decisive measures that will determine the future of the country, especially regarding the preservation of its sovereignty and the independence of its political decisions.”
Sistani also “strongly condemned” U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan.
“The religious authority condemns strongly the oppressive plan that has been unveiled recently to legitimize the occupation of more Palestinian lands,” Sistani said.
