UN envoy meets Sadr to end political crisis in Iraq

UN special envoy for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met prominent Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr in Najaf today to discuss the country’s political crisis, state media reported.

According to the official Iraqi News Agency, Plasschaert said her meeting with the leader of the Sadrist movement “went well”.

Plasschaert is meeting Iraqi political figures to promote dialogue and end the deadlock over the formation of a national government.

Yesterday she met Hadi Al-Amiri, leader of the Fateh Alliance, and “discussed the political situation in the country, including the need for all actors to prioritize the national interest and find solutions to the ongoing crisis,” according to a statement by the UN mission in Iraq.

SRSG Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert met today in Baghdad with the leader of the Fateh Alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri. They discussed the political situation in the country, including the need for all actors to prioritize the national interest and find solutions to the ongoing crisis. pic.twitter.com/DWTASgIy0H

— UNAMI (@UNIraq) August 4, 2022

Al-Sadr has called for the dissolution of parliament, and holding of early elections as political crisis has prevented the formation of a government since the 10 October 2021 elections, in which he won the largest number of seats.

His supporters stormed Baghdad’s government zone and broke into parliament twice last week, rejecting Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani, a nominee of the Coordination Framework coalition, a collection of Iran-backed groups, for the post of prime minister.

Iraq: officials call for national dialogue to end political deadlock