Senior Cleric Warns of Enemies’ Disintegration Plots against Iraq

A senior Iraqi Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Taqi Modarresi, warned that certain groups provoked by foreign states are seeking to disintegrate Iraq.

“A regional plan by the arrogant powers exists for dividing Iraq and lighting the wick of internal and sectarian war fire by Iraqi streams,” Ayatollah Modarresi was quoted as saying by Shafaqnews on Sunday.

He warned the Iraqi people about Iraq’s fragile political situation and a crisis waiting for the country in case the differences and clashes will continue, and called for their further vigilance.

Several anti-government demonstrations have been held in Iraq since December 23, 2012, when bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi were arrested on terrorism-related charges.

Earlier this week, a senior Iraqi legislator said that the meddling of the Saudi, Turkish and Qatari spy agencies in Iraq has derailed the rallies held in the country in the last few weeks from their legal path.

“The rallies which started in Iraq’s Western districts were spontaneous and the demonstrators had legal demands but the interference of the Saudi, Qatari and Turkish plots turned the protests into the current (violent) form,” Representative of Iraqi Kurdistan region in the parliament Mahmoud Othman was quoted as saying by Boratha news agency on Monday.

He said that meeting the demands raised during the rallies is not possible since they are sectarian demands and reflect the will of the foreign sides.

Iraq has in recent days turned into the scene of political conflicts and unrests in a number of provinces. Regional observers blame certain Arab countries of the region for the chaos.

Last week, a senior Iraqi legislator called on the Baghdad government to lodge a complaint with the UN and the Arab League against Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for stirring and meddling in the recent unrests in Iraq’s al-Anbar province.

“There is certain pieces of information showing that Saudi Arabia and Qatar support the rallies in Iraq and that the rallies are planned and financed by Turkey,” Aliya Nassif said in a statement at the time.

“The existing information indicates that huge amounts of money have been spent on provoking such rallies in Iraq in a move to repeat the Syrian experience this time in Iraq,” she said, calling on the Iraqi government to pursue the case with the relevant international bodies.

“In case of proving the authenticity of the information, the Iraqi foreign ministry should comply with its duty and file lawsuits against these governments and sides at the Arab League and the UN to prevent foreign intervention in Iraq’s internal affairs,” Nassif said.

In relevant remarks earlier this month, another Iraqi legislator also warned that a number of foreign states are funding and supporting the recent protests and unrests in Iraq’s al-Anbar province.

“The goal of the recent protests in Iraq is drowning the country and this plot is orchestrated by the foreign states,” Jamal al-Batikh told FNA.

He also cautioned that certain opposition lawmakers joined the plot and entered a regional and international game against Iraq.