Peregraf — Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday sharply criticized Iraqi militias, saying their actions and the state’s failure to place all weapons under government control were responsible for the deaths of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters and security personnel in the wake of coordinated US-Saudi strikes.
In his second statement since Wednesday’s attacks, al-Sadr said “the actions of the brazen militias and the failure to confine weapons exclusively to the hands of the state have been—and continue to be—the cause of the martyrdom of fighters in the Popular Mobilization Forces and security forces without any justification.”
He also accused militia leaders of avoiding the consequences of the conflict.
“Meanwhile, their leaders enjoy security, comfort, and trade… Enough with these individual and irrational actions,” he said.
Al-Sadr expressed condolences to the families of those killed but added, “There are no condolences for those whose actions were the cause of their loss.”
The statement marks a significant escalation in al-Sadr’s criticism of Iran-aligned armed groups following the strikes.
On Wednesday, al-Sadr called for peace and urged all parties not to drag Iraq into a wider regional conflict. He warned that “rogue militias” should not provide a pretext for attacks on Iraq, while also saying Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) should not use Iraqi territory as a battleground.
The latest statement came after coordinated US and Saudi strikes targeted sites used by Iran-aligned armed groups across several Iraqi provinces.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 wounded after strikes hit its headquarters in Baghdad, Nineveh, Basra, Wasit, Karbala, Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala provinces. The group described the operation as a joint US-Saudi attack and said the casualty figures were preliminary.
Iranian media later published the names and photographs of four military advisers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), saying they were also killed in the strikes, though the reports did not specify where they were stationed.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the operation, conducted with US Central Command (CENTCOM), targeted locations linked to attacks on Saudi oil facilities and was carried out under the right to self-defense outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.
CENTCOM said US and Saudi forces struck logistics and weapons sites used by Iran-aligned armed groups following more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks over the previous 72 hours against US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. Neither CENTCOM nor Saudi Arabia specifically identified the PMF as the target of the strikes.