BAGHDAD —
A hugely influential Shiite cleric announced that he would resign from Iraqi politics Monday, after which his angry followers stormed the government palace, sparking fears that deadly violence could erupt in a country already beset by its worst political crisis in years.
Iraq’s military announced a citywide curfew in the capital, Baghdad, and the caretaker premier suspended cabinet sessions in response to the unrest.
Hundreds of supporters of cleric Muqtada Sadr pulled down the cement barriers outside the government palace with ropes and breached the palace gates. Many rushed into the lavish salons and marbled halls of the palace, a key meeting place for Iraqi leaders and foreign dignitaries.
Protests have also broken out in Iraq’s Shiite-majority southern provinces, with Sadr’s supporters burning tires and blocking roads in the oil-rich province of Basra and hundreds demonstrating outside the governorate building in Missan.
Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since Sadr’s party won the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but not enough to secure a majority government, the longest stalemate since the US-led 2003 invasion reset the political order. Sadr’s refusal to negotiate with Iran-backed Shiite rivals has catapulted the country into political uncertainty and volatility amid intensifying intra-Shiite wrangling.
To further his political interests, Sadr has wrapped his rhetoric in a nationalist and reform agenda that resonates powerfully with his grassroots base, whose members come from Iraq’s poorest sectors of society and have historically been shut out from the political system dissolution of parliament and early elections without the participation of Iran-backed groups, which they see as responsible for the status quo.
Iran considers intra-Shiite disharmony as a threat to its influence in Iraq and has repeatedly attempted to broker dialogue with Sadr.
In July, his supporters broke into the parliament to deter Sadr’s rivals in the Coordination Framework, an alliance of mostly Iran-aligned Shiite parties, from forming a government and have been staging a sit-in outside the building for more than four weeks. His bloc has also resigned from parliament. The framework is lead by Sadr’s chief rival, former Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
Monday’s breach of the palace marked a new escalation in the political struggle and raised the possibility of bloodshed.
This is not the first time Sadr has announced his retirement from politics — and many dismissed the latest move as another bluff to gain greater leverage against his rivals amid a worsening stalemate. The cleric has used the tactic on previous occasions when political developments did not go his way.
But many are concerned that it’s a risky gambit and are worried how it will affect Iraq’s fragile political climate. By stepping out of the political process, Sadr is in effect giving his followers permission to act as they see fit.
In addition to his large grassroots following, Sadr commands a militia. He also maintains a great degree of influence within Iraq’s state institutions through the appointments of key civil servant positions.
His Iran-backed rivals also have militia groups.
Iraq’s military swiftly announced a citywide curfew in the hopes of calming rising tensions and heading off the possibility of clashes. It called on the cleric’s supporters to withdraw immediately from the heavily fortified government zone and to practice self-restraint “to prevent clashes or the spilling of Iraqi blood,” according to a statement.
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“The security forces affirm their responsibility to protect government institutions, international missions, public and private properties,” the statement said.
Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi called on Sadr to tell his followers to withdraw from government institutions.
Sadr announced his withdrawal from politics in a tweet, and ordered the closure of his party offices. Religious and cultural institutions will remain open.
Sadr’s statement Monday appeared to be a reaction to the retirement of Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Kadhim Haeri, who counts many of Sadr’s supporters as followers. The previous day, Haeri announced that he would be stepping down as a religious authority and called on his followers to support Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the Shiite spiritual center in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf.
The move was a blow to Sadr. In his statement, he said Haeri’s stepping down “was not out of his own volition.”
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