When he raises his index finger and frowns, Iraq holds its breath. The mercurial Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has yet again showed his political prowess, able to mobilise and demobilise loyalists within minutes.

On Monday, in a short message, he announced his "definitive retirement" from politics and the closure of all institutions linked to his movement.

Shortly thereafter, thousands of his supporters assembled and stormed the government palace in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, prompting the army to declare a curfew.

After nearly 24 hours of deadly violence that pitted his supporters against the army and factions backed by Iran, Sadr on Tuesday ordered his followers to withdraw within "60 minutes".

His supporters dismantled encampments and cleared the area en masse within minutes of his speech, demonstrating the loyal obedience of a popular base that is widely seen as the cleric's main instrument of power.

Today, as in past years following the 2003 US-led overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq cannot ignore the grey-bearded preacher.

Sadr, 48, who wears a black turban symbolic of a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, once led a militia against American and Iraqi government forces.

Ten months after elections, the oil-rich but impoverished country is still without a new government.

Sadr's bloc emerged from the ballot as the biggest parliamentary faction, but intense negotiations since then have failed to bridge the divide between it and rival Shiite groups.

In June, his 73 lawmakers quit in a bid to break the logjam, but that led to his rivals, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, becoming the largest bloc in parliament.

Sadr says he simply wants a new election. The Coordination Framework says it wants a government to be formed first -- and then for elections to be held, under conditions.

- Chameleon-like -

Analysts have said Sadr has used street protests to signal that his views must be taken into account in government formation.

In late July, he backed via Twitter the takeover of parliament inside the Green Zone that houses diplomatic and government buildings.

Sadr called it a "spontaneous revolution... a first step" towards "an extraordinary opportunity for a fundamental change".

But the chameleon-like figure has made several reversals over the years, including in 2008 when he suspended activities of his 60,000-member Mahdi Army, which had been one of Iraq's most active and feared Shiite militias.

He reactivated the group after a US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.

Sadr retains a devoted following of millions among the country's majority Shiite population, including in the poor Baghdad district of Sadr City.

"He can occupy the streets. No one in Iraq can do it as well as him," said Hamdi Malik, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Perhaps uniquely in Iraq, Sadr has "a very obedient base" which also comprises a formidable online presence attacking his rivals in cyberspace, Malik said.

"Everything is revolving around him. That in Iraq is very important," he added.

During youth-led protests that erupted in 2019, Sadr sent thousands of followers to support the movement.

He then called them back, and later invited them to "relaunch the peaceful reformist revolution".

- Never overshadowed -

Ben Robin-D'Cruz, a specialist in Shiite movements at Aarhus University in Denmark, said Sadr "tries to position himself simultaneously in the centre of the political system while distancing himself from it".

His religious character, the researcher said, "allows him to create this illusion of transcending politics".

Born in 1974 in Kufa, near the holy Shiite city of Najaf, Sadr is described by some who are close to him as easily angered.

The round-faced Islamic leader comes from an influential clerical family and is the son of Mohammed Sadek Sadr, whom Saddam had assassinated in 1999.

Sadr initially said he would not take part in the October election but then backtracked to campaign on vague themes of reconstruction, opposition to Iranian influence, and a pledge to "end corruption".

He has a checkered relationship with Iran.

Sadr's bloc contested the 2010 legislative election in an alliance with the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, a Shiite group with links to the Islamic republic.

In October, though, Sadr campaigned as a nationalist.

The current standoff pits him against the pro-Iran Coordination Framework which includes lawmakers from the party of Sadr's longtime foe, ex-prime minister Nuri al-Maliki. Sadr supported Maliki's bid for the premiership in 2006, but his followers later pulled out of the former premier's cabinet.

As a result of past deals, the Sadrists also have representatives at the highest levels of government ministries and have been accused by their opponents of being as corrupt as other political forces.

Supporters of Sadr, however, are ready to follow him almost blindly and view him as a champion of the anti-corruption fight.

Iraq political gridlock persists after bloody unrest
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 31, 2022 - A months-long political crisis in Iraq showed little sign of abating Wednesday despite a fresh push for negotiations after nearly 24 hours of deadly violence between rival Shiite factions ended.

The highly-secured Green Zone in Baghdad returned to normality after 30 people were killed and 570 wounded in the clashes pitting supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr against factions linked to Iran.

Since elections in October last year, political deadlock has left Iraq without a new government, prime minister or president, due to disagreement over the formation of a coalition.

The tensions escalated sharply on Monday when Sadr loyalists stormed the government palace inside the Green Zone following their leader's announcement that he was quitting politics.

But Sadr's supporters trickled out of the Green Zone in a steady stream on Tuesday afternoon when he appealed for them to withdraw within the hour.

A nationwide curfew was lifted, before shops reopened and infamous traffic jams returned to Baghdad's streets on Wednesday as the government announced the resumption of school exams postponed by the unrest.

But the hurdles obstructing a solution to Iraq's political crisis remained firmly in place, with rival powers refusing to budge on their demands.

Early elections, less than a year after the last polls, and the dissolution of parliament have been a key demand of Sadr.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh said on Tuesday night that snap elections could provide "an exit from the stifling crisis".

- Snap polls -

Parliament can only be dissolved by a majority vote, according to the constitution. Such a vote can take place at the request of a third of lawmakers, or by the prime minster with the president's agreement.

Sadr's rivals in the pro-Iran Coordination Framework want a new head of government to be appointed before any new elections are held.

On Tuesday, they called for the swift formation of a new government, "to prevent a recurrence of the strife" that paralysed the Iraqi capital this week.

The Framework urged parliament and other state institutions to "return to exercising their constitutional functions and carry out their duties towards citizens."

The statement drew the ire of a senior aid of Sadr, Saleh Mohammad al-Iraqi, who said it overlooked the rightful demands of protesters killed in the Green Zone who want parliament dissolved.

"Iran should reign in its Iraqi camels, or else there will be little room left for regret," he said on Wednesday, referring to the Coordination Framework.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, meanwhile, threatened to resign if the political paralysis continues.

"If they want to continue to stir up chaos, conflict, discord and rivalry... I will take the moral and patriotic step and vacate my post at the appropriate time," he said in a speech.

- 'More protests' -

Iraqi political analyst Sajad Jiyad said a return to violence was possible in the absence of a longer term solution.

"The biggest loser is the state, standing idly by while two powerful armed parties continue to struggle for control," he said.

"Unless a proper solution is reached, more protests and violence are possible."

Sadr -- a longtime player in the war-torn country's political scene, though he himself has never directly been in government -- announced he was quitting politics two days after he said "all parties" including his own should give up government positions in order to help resolve the political crisis.

Sadr's bloc emerged from last October's election as the biggest in the legislature, with 73 seats, but short of a majority.

Since then the country has been mired in political deadlock due to disagreement between Shiite factions over forming a coalition.

In June, Sadr's lawmakers quit in a bid to break the logjam, which led to the Coordination Framework becoming the largest.

Sadr's supporters had for weeks been staging a sit-in outside Iraq's parliament, after storming the legislature's interior on July 30, demanding fresh elections be held.

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Iraq protesters disperse after Sadr demands end to deadly clashes
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 30, 2022
Iraqi supporters of powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr withdrew Tuesday from Baghdad's Green Zone after he demanded an end to fighting between rival Shiite forces and the army that left 30 dead and hundreds wounded. The clashes that erupted on Monday pitted Sadr loyalists against Shiite factions backed by neighbouring Iran - violence that prompted Iraq's president to push for early elections and the prime minister to threaten to resign. Sadr, a grey-bearded preacher with millions of devoted follower ... read more