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Muqtada al Sadr announces integration of his militia into the Iraqi state
Iraqi nationalist cleric Muqtada al Sadr announced that his militia, Saraya al Salam, will integrate into state security institutions. This development comes as Iraq’s new political leadership is navigating the issue of disarming Iran-backed militias.
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Major Shiite parties to run separately in Iraq’s November election amid disagreements
The Coordination Framework, Iraq’s ruling bloc of Shiite political parties, has announced that its members will run on separate lists in Iraq’s November 2025 election and reform the alliance following the vote. Elements of the bloc have disagreed strongly over key issues since the current government’s formation in 2022.
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Muqtada al Sadr reactivates Mahdi Army, Promised Day Brigade
Muqtada al Sadr has reactivated two of his longstanding militia forces in Iraq in response to the U.S. killing Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
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Iraqi militant Qayis Khazali warned us about Iran. We ignored him.
Iran has its tentacles all over Iraq, and the United States has no one to blame but itself. It is a bipartisan failure dating back to the March 2003 invasion. The seeds of this failure can be seen in the interrogation transcripts of Qayis Khazali, the leader of the Mahdi Army’s Special Groups and Asaib Ahl al Haq.
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US troops ‘are a target for us,’ Iraq’s Muqtada al Sadr says
The radical Shia cleric responded to the US military deployment of an additional 560 troops to aid in the fight against the Islamic State by threatening to attack them.
