Powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr joined Iran's supreme leader during a rare visit to Tehran to mark the Shiite holy day of Ashura, state media reported Wednesday.

The office of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued pictures of Sadr flanked by Khamenei on one side, and the commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Qasem Soleimani, on the other.

Iran's judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi also attended the ceremony, which commemorates the death of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein at the Battle of Karbala, in modern-day Iraq.

Sadr's surprise visit comes at a time of deep political divisions among Iraq's Shiite factions, and as Baghdad tries to walk a tightrope between its two main allies, Tehran and Washington.

Tehran has close but complicated ties with Baghdad, with significant influence among its Shiite political groups.

The two countries fought a bloody war from 1980 to 1988 and Iran's influence in Iraq grew after the US-led invasion of Iraq toppled veteran dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

In 2014, Iran sent Soleimani and "miliary advisers" to Iraq to help it in the fight against the Islamic State group, and Soleimani continues to play a key role as a powerbroker in Iraq during times of turbulence.

Sadr himself is a populist cleric, political figure and former militia leader whose bloc emerged as the biggest in the Iraqi parliament after May 2018 elections.

But he refused to align with the pro-Iran camp to form a government, visited Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia and has criticised pro-Iran paramilitary groups in Iraq -- sparking contradictory analysis of the current visit.

Some observers suspected Sadr had been "summoned" to Tehran after statements challenging Iran and its Iraqi allies in the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.

The Iraqi cleric recently launched a Twitter campaign against the more hardline elements of the Hashed and even took aim at the Iraqi government, saying Iraq was becoming a "rogue" state.

Others said it might indicate a vote of confidence in him by Iran's top leadership over the Hashed's political arm, the Fatah alliance.

Many noted it was strange to see Sadr outside Iraq on Ashura, a holy day during which millions of pilgrims travel to Karbala.

On Tuesday, a stampede broke out among pilgrims visiting the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala that left 31 people dead and more than 100 wounded.

burs/mjg/dv/kir

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Shorter sentences for three convicted in 2007 Blackwater carnage
Washington (AFP) Sept 10, 2019
Three former Blackwater security guards convicted in a 2007 shooting spree in Baghdad that killed more than a dozen unarmed civilians and wounded many others, have had their prison sentences reduced by half or more, authorities said Tuesday. The three Americans - Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard - were sentenced to 15, 14 and 12.5 years respectively in Washington on Thursday, according to a statement released by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The me ... read more