Sadr Supports Any Attacked Neighbouring State

Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Monday, 23 January, 2006

Sadr Supports Any Attacked Neighbouring State

Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.

The young Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, said in Tehran yesterday that his al-Mahdi army (militia) would support any neighbouring Islamic state once it is attacked. (The statement was a veiled reference to Iran, which has close ties with Shia leaders in Iraq. Tehran and the United Nations are in a standoff over nuclear inspections in Iran.) Sadr, who opposes the US presence in Iraq, added that the Mahdi army was founded mainly to defend Islam, Iraqi interests and the Islamic states.

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