Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr closed his Facebook account Friday, writing “goodbye” on a black background on the social media site, Anadolu Agency reports.
The move led to speculations that Al-Sadr “withdrew from politics” in response to an agreement between political parties regarding the prime minister candidacy of Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, supported by groups close to Iran.
Al-Sadr also replaced his profile picture, an image of his father Mohammad Sadeq Al-Sadr, also known as a Shia religious authority, with a picture of a black background with the world “closed” written on it.
READ: Iraq’s top Shia cleric condemns killings, kidnappings of protesters
Earlier, Al-Sadr said in two statements on Facebook that he is against the candidacy of Al-Sudani, who is a former Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
Al-Sadr’s Twitter account remains open.
Iraq has been rocked by mass protests since early October over poor living conditions and corruption, forcing Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to resign.
According to Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights, at least 460 Iraqis have been killed and 17,000 have been injured since the protests began in October.