Iraq’s Sadr Announces Full Withdrawal from Political Life

By Staff, Agencies

Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said Monday that he has decided to withdraw fully from politics, and was closing his institutions in response to an intractable political deadlock.

"I hereby announce my final withdrawal," Sadr said in a statement posted on Twitter.

A spokesman for the Sadrist Movement called on Sunday for the establishment of a new Iraq.

In response, the Sadrist Movement protesters attempted to break through the palaces in the Green Zone, hundreds of which managed to cross the gate of presidential palace.

Meanwhile, an expanded security meeting was held in the HQ of the Joint Operations Command, which called on protesters to immediately withdraw from the Green Zone.