What position does Iran take on the political unrest in neighboring Iraq?

• Iran has an interest in the security of Iraq.
• Fuad Hussein, the foreign minister of Iraq, arrived in Tehran.
• He declared he was quitting politics.

Tehran, Iran has an interest in the security of Iraq, which is its neighbor to the west and has recently been the scene of fatal bloodshed after months of political unrest.

Fuad Hussein, the foreign minister of Iraq, arrived in Tehran early on Monday for high-level talks, just before Muqtada al-Sadr, a prominent religious figure, declared he was quitting politics and mobilized his followers to storm the government buildings in Baghdad.

At least 30 people were killed and numerous others were injured during the fighting that broke out and continued into Tuesday between Sadrist movement supporters and security personnel in the city’s Green Zone.

In a move that some experts interpreted as an attempt to avoid accountability, Al-Sadr on Tuesday afternoon granted his supporters 60 minutes to leave the area and apologized. Despite this, the action helped to restore a relatively calm environment.

The Iranian government largely kept quiet about the political dimensions of the two days of pandemonium, concentrating instead on assuring the safety and security of the thousands of Iranian pilgrims travelling into Iraq by land or air for the Arbaeen celebrations.

Following the return of peace, Iran’s foreign ministry expressed gratitude to the Iraqi government and populace for “passing a huge sedition” via their restraint and forbearance.

The Iraqi foreign minister also discussed local politics in the Iranian capital along with the upcoming round of direct talks between Tehran and foe Saudi Arabia, which have been postponed because of unrest in the country’s host, Iraq.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was cited by his website as saying to Hussein, “Establishing security and stability in Iraq can only be facilitated through dialogue between all of the country’s political factions based on the constitution, with the goal of reaching agreement on forming a new government.”

In a dig at the US and Western influence in Iraq and the wider region, Raisi added, “Iraq’s initiatives and efforts to develop the climate of collaboration between regional countries without foreign intervention will be helpful in boosting regional convergence.”

As al-movement Sadr’s had attempted to build a “national majority government” for about ten months after winning the parliamentary elections in October 2021, the Iranian president’s remarks appeared to go opposed to al-“revolutionary” Sadr’s attitude.

Al-Sadr has occasionally presented himself as an opponent of Iranian influence in Iraq despite having some ties to Iran himself, having studied in the seminaries in the Iranian city of Qom. Iran has supported the consensus mechanism, which is based on the constitution, that was formed in the post-2003 US invasion era.

According to Mohammad Saleh Sedghian, director of the Arabic Center for Iranian Studies, Iran does not have a desire to meddle in the internal affairs of Iraq; rather, it is more concerned with preventing any instability that would endanger its own security.

“The necessity for stability in Iraq is what matters most to Iran. Since the two countries share a 1,400 km (877 mph) long border and were at war for eight years [during the 1980s], Sedghian told Al Jazeera that any security issues in Iraq have an effect on Iran, whether they are good or bad.

Iran didn’t interfere when the Sadrist movement held the Iraqi parliament building, and it doesn’t want to interfere today.

Nevertheless, the analyst claimed that al-Sadr had come to a “political dead-end” on several fronts, regardless of what Iran desires.

Sedghian said that the strongman attempted to create a government by teaming up with Sunni leader Mohamed Al-Halbousi and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, both of whom have influence but do not fully represent their respective parties and people.

As a result, the parliament was forcibly dissolved, and an attempt was made to shut down the courts, but it was eventually unsuccessful.

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