VIDEO: Sadr steps down from politics: will it lead to an Iranian infiltration?

Iraq's influential Shia leader and firebrand cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced in a tweet on Monday that he is retiring from politics and shuttering all political offices.  

The move comes almost eleven months after Sadr’s party, the Sadrist Bloc, won the majority of parliamentary elections but not enough to obtain a majority government. Since Sadr refused to accommodate robust Shia rivals closely allied to Iran, no government was formed, leaving the country in political limbo and turmoil. 

However, Sadr’s latest declaration also stands to arouse tensions in the already fragile country. In the immediate aftermath of Monday’s announcement, hundreds of his enraged followers stormed the government palace, resulting in heavy clashes between security forces that left at least one demonstrator dead and several more wounded. Iraq’s military issued a nationwide curfew, and caretaker premier, Mustafa Kadhimi, suspended Cabinet sessions in the wake of the security breach.

But all this begs the question of why Sadr is doing this now and why the dramatic message matters.

CLICK THE VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DANGEROUS IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH A MOVE.

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