Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric warns against any targeting of Iran’s leadership
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Fears are growing over an intervention by Iran-backed Iraqi factions, mostly against American interests in the region.
PHOTO: AFP
BAGHDAD - Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani warned against targeting Iran’s leadership and said that the Iran-Israel war could plunge the whole region into chaos.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani said in a statement on June 19 that any targeting of Iran’s “supreme religious and political leadership” would have “dire consequences on the region”.
He warned that it could spark “widespread chaos that would exacerbate the suffering of its (the region’s) people and severely harm everyone’s interests”.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani urged the international community to “make every effort to end this unjust war and find a peaceful solution” to Iran’s nuclear programme.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani, an Iranian, is the highest religious authority for millions of Shi’ite Muslims in Iraq and around the world, with the power to mobilise a huge portion of that base in Iraq.
With warnings of all-out regional war intensifying following Israel’s surprise assault on Iran last week, fears are growing over an intervention by Iran-backed Iraqi factions, mostly against American interests in the region.
Despite his Iranian roots, Grand Ayatollah Sistani is seen as an essential figure in Iraq’s recent history and has been known for pushing back against Tehran’s growing clout in Iraq.
Israel launched a devastating surprise attack on June 13 targeting Iran’s military and nuclear sites and killing top commanders and scientists, saying it is acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran denies.
The assault has prompted Iran to retaliate with barrages of missiles on Israel.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out plans to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would “end the conflict”.
US President Donald Trump had earlier said his country would not kill Ayatollah Khamenei “for now”, but demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.
Ayatollah Khamenei rejected Mr Trump’s demand, as the US president warned he was weighing military action in the conflict.
Shi’ite Muslim clerics rallied late on June 18, wearing military fatigues in southern Iraq, near the Iranian border. They held Iraqi and Iranian flags and shouted slogans condemning Israel’s attack. AFP
