In the Friday sermon held at the Imam Hussain Holy Shrine on January 10, 2020, the spokesperson and representative of His Eminence Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, Sayyid Ahmad al-Safi said that the rivalry to overcome one another strengthens the current crisis in Iraq. Adding that recent violations of Iraqi sovereignty are part of the consequences of the current crisis.

Referring to this point that the continuation of the current crisis allows for more foreigners to intervene, the Supreme Religious Authority expressed: “Adherence to the determined roadmap is the only way to come out the current crisis, and Iraq must be its own master and there should be no role for others”.

The full text of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s statement on recent events is as follows:

In the name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful

In times of adversities, cooperation and solidarity are in urgent need, and this can only be achieved by the willingness of all parties to give up even a part of their interests and prefer the public interest. Acting based on the methods of tug-of-war by the various parties who hold some of the power, influence, and facilities, and each of them trying to impose their views on the others, will exacerbate the crisis and make it difficult to resolve, the loss will be for all, and the greater damage will certainly be to the country and to the people, who have no involvement in the ongoing internal and external conflicts, and such conflicts do not matter to them as much as the security and stability of their country and the maintenance of its independence and sovereignty and the provision of a munificent life for themselves and their children.

The dangerous transgressions that have taken place in recent days and the repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty, along with the apparent weakness of the relevant authorities in protecting the country and nation from those attacks and violations, are part of the consequences of the current crisis and all are urged to be careful about the consequence of not ending such a situation, stemming from the insistence of some on their stances and opposition to put them aside, because such an issue could lead to worsening the problems in security, political, economic and social fields and it will provide the opportunity for more and more foreigners to be involved in the internal affairs of the country and the opportunity to fulfill their wishes.

If we want this crisis to be ended with an acceptable outcome, after all the sacrifices of the country’s people on various fronts and squares, the right way out is to have a general sense of national responsibility and transform this feeling into the influential positions to solve the current crisis through responding to reform-related demands based on the roadmap that has been talked about many times.

The sufferings and problems caused by various wars and disasters over the past decades, in the shadow of the former regimes and even the current regime, are enough for the people, so the related parties should raise their sense of national responsibility and do not destabilize the opportunity to achieve a comprehensive vision for the future of the nation, which has not yet been actualized, in a way that Iraq will be its own leader and its nation rule over the country, strangers should have no role in their decisions, governing in it should be based on the people’s will, and should be a government that strives to serve all citizens with all their national and religious affiliations and to provide them a decent and munificent life.

Is such a request for a country which has bright minds and enormous facilities, a big request?

We pray God Almighty to guide everyone on the right path and help them succeed in this path, that He is the Most Merciful.