Al-Sadr Calls on Government to Punish Those Intervening in Syria

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Iraqi Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday called on the government and Iraqi armed factions to “refrain from intervening” in Syria’s affairs, urging the government to penalize anyone compromising security. Meanwhile, Baghdad is hosting a tripartite meeting between the foreign ministers of Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

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This call comes as Syrian opposition factions have seized control of two major cities in the country. In parallel, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Joulani urged Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to prevent militias from interfering in Syrian matters.

In a post on the platform “X” (formerly Twitter), Moqtada al-Sadr emphasized “the necessity for Iraq—government, people, entities, militias, and security forces—to refrain from intervening in Syrian affairs, as some have done in the past.” He called on the government “to prevent such interventions and to punish anyone who breaches peaceful and doctrinal security.”

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Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani affirmed during a phone call on Saturday evening with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that “Syria’s security and stability are tied to Iraq’s national security and influence regional security as a whole.”

He also told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday that Iraq “will not remain a spectator to the grave repercussions” of the events in its neighboring country, with which it shares a border of over 600 kilometers.

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An Iraqi government official clarified that the “red line” for Baghdad in Syria is the advance of “terrorist forces” eastward towards Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, near the Iraqi border, or towards Damascus, where the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, “sacred to Shia Muslims,” is located.

He also mentioned another red line: “the establishment of a caliphate,” which could become a “platform for terrorism.”

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According to Iraq’s official news agency, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein will meet today, Friday, with his Syrian and Iranian counterparts to discuss the situation in Syria. Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh arrived in Baghdad late Thursday, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtchi is expected to arrive today.

Fadi al-Shamri, an advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, stated: “An important meeting between the foreign ministers of Iraq, Iran, and Syria will be held to discuss political and military measures to protect our security from threats emanating from Syria.”

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He added: “We will not respond to al-Joulani’s statements, as we do not engage with terrorist groups,” while affirming: “We are not concerned with military intervention in Syria.”

Iraq, home to over 45 million people, remains traumatized by the Islamic State’s control of about one-third of its territory between 2014 and 2017.

Iraq’s Ministry of Defense announced on Monday the deployment of armored vehicles to bolster security along the border with Syria.

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A senior official from an Iraqi armed faction stated that the road to Syria is currently “difficult” due to “fears of U.S. and Israeli strikes.” However, he noted: “We have our own secure routes to reach the front lines, but so far, no orders have been issued to that effect.”

Earlier this week, the Hezbollah Brigades, a key Iraqi faction loyal to Tehran, called on Baghdad’s authorities to send military forces to Syria to support regime forces.

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The Hezbollah Brigades have been involved in the Syrian conflict since 2011 alongside regime forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that nearly 200 fighters from an unnamed pro-Iranian Iraqi faction had entered Syria from Iraq to participate in fighting in the country’s north.

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