Influential Cleric in Iraq Calls for Disbanding Iran-backed Forces

Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shia cleric in Iraq, called on the Iraqi government on Friday, August 4, to disband the armed forces known as Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces). According to AFP, Mr. Sadr made this request during a speech to thousands of his supporters in Baghdad, following his visit to Saudi Arabia last week, a rival of the Islamic Republic in the region. Hashd al-Shaabi, or the 'Popular Mobilization Forces', primarily consists of Shia militia groups supported by Tehran and was officially recognized by the Iraqi parliament in December 2016 as a reserve force for the army and police. These forces played a significant role in the recapture of the important and strategic city of Mosul in Iraq last July, the first city to be captured by the Islamic State group. According to a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hashd al-Shaabi is trained and monitored by Iranian Revolutionary Guard instructors. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC's foreign operations branch, explicitly stated in late July that 'the commander of Hashd al-Shaabi was able to take the key to the Islamic Republic's weapons depots for himself, as the Islamic Republic was not like others who would take the Iraqi people's money and not provide them with weapons in times of emergency.' Now, Moqtada al-Sadr, the influential Shia cleric, is calling for the disbanding of these militia forces, which are estimated to number around 122,000. In his speech on Friday, Mr. Sadr urged Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, to confiscate all weapons and ammunition held by Hashd al-Shaabi, disband the group entirely, and only allow disciplined and trained forces to join the Iraqi army. Moqtada al-Sadr himself was once the leader of one of these militia groups that claimed to fight against the American occupation of Iraq, but he has recently emerged as a politician and has organized several protests against corruption in the Iraqi government. However, Mr. Sadr made his request just days after news agencies reported his first trip to Saudi Arabia in eleven years, a visit that both Riyadh and Mr. Sadr's office described as successful. Mr. Sadr's office stated that this trip was made in response to an 'official invitation' from Riyadh. This comes at a time when relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic have been fraught with tension following the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, with both countries continuously accusing each other of interfering in their internal affairs. Earlier this year, in April, Moqtada al-Sadr also called for the resignation of Bashar al-Assad from power; Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is an ally of Iran in the region.