Iraq..Differences within the Sadrist movement and a new tactic for Tehran

has already retreated”coordinating frameworkWhich brings together the Shiite forces that lost in the legislative elections – a step back in the negotiations with the Sadrist movement, and provided the opportunity for Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the al-Hikma movement, who puts himself on the sidelines, and has acceptance with the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr, the biggest winner in the elections.

Al-Hakim put forward a 9-point initiative to resolve the knot of government formation, and is based on all parties sitting at the dialogue table without preconditions.

The parties reached a dead end in forming the government; As al-Sadr was unable to form the national majority government that he insists on, his rivals insist in the coordination framework on forming a coalition government.

The wise lead the negotiation

In the previous two days, the “coordinating framework” intensified its meetings with its allies in the “PUK” and “Azm Alliance”, to strengthen positions calling for the formation of a consensual government, before al-Sadr resumed his frozen activity.

Al-Sadr froze his activity at the beginning of Ramadan and threw the ball into the goal of the “coordinating framework” by giving him 40 days to form a government so that he would not be accused of obstructing it.

Ayed Al-Hilali, a representative of the coordination framework, says that the framework adopts Al-Hakim’s initiative, pointing out that “Al-Hakim is engaged in indirect dialogues with the Sadrist bloc.”

He adds to “Sky News Arabia” that there is “a committee that includes representatives from the framework, andKurdistan Patriotic UnionAn alliance of determination, and independent deputies, to reach an understanding with the blocs capable of forming a government.

Regarding the clash with al-Sadr’s desire to form a national majority government, al-Hilali explained, “No party can be excluded, and the country is not ready for a majority government now.”

Disagreements within the Sadr Movement

The “Save a Homeland” coalition led by al-Sadr is facing a challenge. The party showedKurdistan Democratic PartyOne of its components is flexibility with competing Shiite initiatives.

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Haitham al-Mayahi, told “Sky News Arabia” that his party “refuses to exclude the coordination framework”, and that “this is what party leader Massoud Barzani is working on.”

And recent days have witnessed tensions between members of “Save a Homeland”, as a row erupted between the Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Al-Halbousi Of the Sunnis and his deputy, the Sadrist Hakim al-Zamili regarding the management of the parliament, as al-Zamili believes that the parliament is not led by a president, but rather a presidency body of which he is one of its members, and this is rejected by al-Halbousi, who considers al-Zamili to be his deputy; This opens the door to the leakage of Sunni MPs from “Save the Nation” who consider that the Sadrists have exceeded the powers of the parliament’s presidency assigned to the Sunnis.

Iranian tactic

This coincides with Iran’s reconsideration of its management of the Iraqi file by withdrawing it from the commander of the Quds Force of the militias Revolutionary GuardsIsmail Qaani, and handed it over to its new ambassador in Baghdad, Muhammad Kazem Al Sadiq.

Iran is striving to strengthen its influence over the Iraqi Shiite house, which retreated after the killing of the Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in an American raid in Baghdad 2020, and his successor, Qaani, failed to prove his presence.

Withdrawing the file from the Revolutionary Guards is a new tactic due to the calm calculations that Tehran seeks in the region, noting that its new ambassador is linked to the Revolutionary Guards.

As for the ambassador, his family grew up in Iraq, and Saddam Hussein deported them to Iran for nationalistic reasons, according to what a source told Sky News Arabia, and he became one of the first Iraqis affiliated with the Iranian Quds Force.