Envoy: Iranian Officials, Muqtada Sadr Enjoy Friendly Ties

Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi dismissed speculations that Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr whose alliance Sa’iroun won the recent parliamentary elections is at odds with Tehran, stressing close relations between the two sides.

“Seyed Muqtada Sadr is one of our dear and influential friends and brothers in the friendly and neighboring country of Iraq and relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and him are age-old and the Islamic Republic has had deep relations with dear martyrs Seyed Mohammad Baqer and Seyed Mohammad Sadeq Sadr (his uncle and father),” Masjedi told the Arabic-language al-Alam news channel on Monday.

He added that Iran also enjoys constructive relations with all Iraqi groups and alliances which have won the most seats in the parliamentary elections.

Iraq’s electoral commission announced the Sa’iroun (Marchers) political bloc, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s alliance with communists, as the winner of the country’s parliamentary elections.

Sadr’s alliance, which contested in Iraq’s elections for the first time, captured 54 parliamentary seats, the commission said on Saturday.

Sadr’s movement forms the backbone of the Sa’iroun alliance, but the senior Shiite cleric himself, who enjoys a strong support, did not contest the elections.

The Conquest Alliance, led by former transport minister and secretary general of Badr Organization Hadi al-Ameri, came in second with 47 seats and the Victory Alliance, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi, took the third place with 42 seats.

The Conquest Alliance is a new alliance that entered the elections for the first time. It consists of 18 political parties many of which are former factions of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). The PMU, more commonly known by its Arabic name as Hashd al-Sha’abi, was key in defeating the ISIL terrorists last year. The main units have handed over their weapons to the state in order to enter the political process.

Iraqis voted last Saturday in the first national elections since the country declared complete victory over the ISIL.

The electoral commission of Iraq announced that 44.5 percent of those eligible had cast their ballots in the elections.

Over 7,000 candidates contested the 329 seats in the parliament that will choose a new President, Prime Minister and government in Iraq.

This is the fourth such polls since the 2003 US invasion that led to a sharp rise in sectarian tensions and ensuing terror-related violence in the Arab country.

The next Prime Minster will face the huge task of rebuilding a country shattered by the war against the ISIL and the US invasion.