Shafaq News – Baghdad

Muqtada al-Sadr, head of the Shiite Patriotic Movement, used his latest statement to issue a sharp warning to Iraq’s political system, a close associate revealed on Tuesday, after the cleric denied reports of an assassination plot during a visit to Najaf.

In his message yesterday, al-Sadr — who in March 2025 reaffirmed his boycott of the elections over corruption claims — described the allegations as attempts by political rivals to spread fear ahead of the November vote. He accused “power-hungry elites” of putting personal gain above Iraq’s democracy and vowed that his movement would not be deterred by threats.

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The source told Shafaq News that the statement was not a passing reaction but a calculated move to reaffirm that, despite his absence from the elections, he continues to hold the initiative on both the popular and political fronts.

Al-Sadr, the associate explained, intended to caution that excluding his movement would push Iraq into a dangerous deadlock. At the heart of his message lies the rejection of reviving post-2003 consensus and quota-based politics, and a call instead for either a genuine national majority government or an effective opposition — which his movement presents as a viable reformist path.

“The future of Iraq’s political landscape depends on how other forces respond,” the source stressed. “Either they align with reform and avoid chaos, or they confront the pressure of al-Sadr’s street, which remains the decisive card in the Iraqi equation.”

The controversy followed allegations on social media by opposition activist Ali Fadel, who claimed that MP Yasser al-Maliki of the State of Law Coalition planned to target al-Sadr with a drone strike near the shrine of his father in Najaf. The report provoked overnight mobilization in Basra, where Saraya al-Salam, al-Sadr’s armed wing, deployed fighters in anticipation of possible threats.