ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday strongly criticized British Ambassador to Iraq Irfan Siddiq over remarks about Western powers helping establish Shiite-led rule in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.
During a televised interview on Tuesday, Siddiq said, “The Americans and us, the British, changed the regime in 2003,” adding that “We integrated Shiite rule. From the first elections in 2005 until now, the government has always been led by the Shiite. We pushed, approved, and supported Shiite rule in Iraq.”
Sadr said he was “infuriated and saddened” by Siddiq’s assertion that “they are the ones who handed over governance to the Shiites in Iraq.”
Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime was toppled by a US-led coalition in March 2003. His removal led to the establishment of Iraq’s ethno-sectarian power-sharing system, under which a Shiite politician has traditionally held the prime minister’s post.
In the interview with Iraq’s Alawla TV, Siddiq, speaking in Arabic, also criticized Iranian influence in Iraq. While stressing that the UK does not oppose the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) as a state institution under the Iraqi prime minister, he said London could not accept the “Axis of Resistance” - a term used for Iran-aligned armed factions.
Siddiq warned that some factions “exploit their position within the PMF” to serve outside interests that harm Iraq.
The ambassador’s remarks came in response to local rhetoric portraying the recent US-Iran war as a “war against the Shiite.” He denied the allegation, saying, “This is not true at all.”
During the conflict, factions aligned with Iran’s Axis of Resistance launched attacks targeting US forces and bases in the region in support of Tehran.
Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia fought Iraqi and coalition forces following the 2003 invasion, issued a strongly worded response on Wednesday.
“If a handful of Shiites stood [submissively] before you, we are not among them, and we never will be - neither in this world nor in the Hereafter,” he added.
The cleric also accused Britain of historically supporting Saddam Hussein, whom he described as a “destructive dictator.”
“So where is the credit in that?” Sadr wrote.
Despite maintaining his own armed faction under the broader PMF umbrella, Sadr has long been at odds with rival Iran-aligned Shiite groups.
Tensions escalated after the October 2021 parliamentary elections, when Sadr’s bloc emerged as the largest faction but failed to form a majority government amid opposition from rival Shiite parties. He later withdrew his lawmakers from parliament.
Sadr has repeatedly accused rival Shiite factions of submitting to foreign influence.
In Wednesday’s statement, he also accused Britain of remaining a “fertile breeding ground for Baathists, infiltrators, enemies of religion and the sect, and enemies of the homeland,” and called on British authorities to extradite them to Iraq.
Sadr concluded by demanding a formal apology from the British ambassador.
“Peace be upon the Shiites of Iraq, its Sunnis, and its minorities who have remained, and continue to remain, against the Baath Party and its remnants, and who reject foreign hegemony - whoever it may be,” Sadr stated.