Iraq’s foremost Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged Baghdad to limit armed power to the government and protect its sovereignty from external interference, in an apparent veiled rebuke of Iran's influence on armed groups.
Meeting Monday with Mohamed al-Hassan, head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), al-Sistani was quoted by the official Iraq News Agency as saying Iraq's progress depends on putting weapons in the state's hands and checking outsiders.
Iraqis must "exert their utmost efforts to overcome their failures, working diligently toward achieving a better future for their country where everyone enjoys security, stability, progress, and prosperity,” INA reported him as saying.
This will be achieved by "preventing foreign interference in all its forms, enforcing the rule of law, restricting arms to the state, and combating corruption at all levels," al-Sistani said, adding: "But it seems that the Iraqis have a long way to go until they achieve this, may God help them."
Al-Sistani is Iraq's preeminent Shia religious authority and an influential voice on public affairs. Along with populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, he has been a longtime skeptic of Iranian influence in the country since a US-led invasion in 2003.
However, al-Sistani's 2014 call for armed defense against the expansion of ultra-hardline Sunni Islamic State militants led to the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a grouping of armed factions including some backed by Iran.
His remarks come as Iraq is caught in the middle of broader regional conflicts and hosts US troops at the same time Tehran arms and funds powerful Shia militias.
Iranian-aligned armed groups in Iraq, some of which have publicly expressed support for the so-called ‘resistance axis’ aligned with Gaza, have launched missiles and drones toward Israel, though these attacks have had minimal impact.
The term ‘resistance axis’ was coined by the Islamic Republic to describe its regional proxy forces, including Palestinian militant groups, the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad, the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and others.
Meanwhile, Shia cleric Ali al-Amin in Lebanon has also called on Lebanese citizens to avoid sectarian divisions and support national unity, asserting that government institutions must protect citizens without partisan or sectarian affiliations.
According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal, Iran is preparing a retaliatory response to Israel’s latest attacks, potentially involving Iraqi territory as a staging ground and using its conventional military forces.
Iranian officials, briefing Arab diplomats, suggested that their response would focus on Israeli military sites “much more aggressively than last time.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also declared that "Iran will in no way leave any violation of its territory and security unanswered."
Manouchehr Bakhtiari was sentenced to 18 years and 74 lashes in January for his calls for accountability after his son Pouya, 27, was killed during the anti-government protests of November 2019.
His family has reported that he is being denied medical leave for serious health issues, including the need for hernia and prostate surgeries, despite forensic recommendations supporting his request.
Bakhtiari’s son, Pouya, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head in Karaj amid security forces’ crackdown on protests, during which hundreds of demonstrators were killed.
Since Pouya’s death, Bakhtiari and his family have called for investigations into what they say is state-sanctioned violence against citizens.
Bakhtiari’s daughter, Mona, recently took to social media to express the family’s alarm over her father’s worsening health. According to her statement, Bakhtiari “collapsed inside the prison, but authorities refused to transfer him to an outside hospital, only moving him to the prison infirmary.”
In her post, she appealed to human rights organizations, activists, and the Iranian public to stand up for her father. The Bakhtiari family has called for his immediate release.
Before starting his hunger strike eight days ago, Bakhtiari sent an audio message from prison, saying, “From October 28 until my release from prison, I will be on hunger strike, and the Islamic Republic is responsible for whatever happens to me.”
Many prisoners in Iran are forced to resort to hunger strikes as a last resort to achieve their demands, including delays in case processing and violations of their rights as prisoners, often putting their lives at risk.
Bakhtiari’s wife, Nahid Shirpisheh, who has also publicly advocated for accountability, is currently serving a five-year sentence in Zanjan Prison. Her charges likewise stem from efforts to seek justice for their son Pouya.
“The official stance of Iran in rejecting weapons of mass destruction and regarding the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program is clear," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.
"As emphasized in the recent speech by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we will equip ourselves to the extent necessary for the defense of Iran," he added.
For weeks, Iranian officials have ramped up their narrative that Tehran possesses the capability to produce nuclear weapons, asserting that only Khamenei's religious fatwa prevents it from doing so.
Baghaei also claimed that the country will use all its "material and spiritual resources to respond to the recent aggressions by the Zionist regime."
This statement comes as Iran’s leadership intensifies its stance amid escalating tensions with the United States and Israel.
Khamenei has called on officials to make every necessary preparation to defend the country against the US and Israel.
"We are fully committed to preparing the Iranian nation in every necessary way to confront arrogance," Khamenei said on Saturday.
He added that both military readiness and political efforts are integral to this approach.
On October 1, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles in two waves, targeting sites within Israel. The attack was presented as a response to the recent assassinations of several key figures allied with Iran, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. While Israel reported intercepting most of the missiles, the strikes have led to further deterioration in already fraught relations between the two arch enemies.
Israel’s October 26 retaliation included airstrikes on Iranian missile facilities and air defense systems, resulting in the deaths of four Iranian soldiers and one civilian, according to Iranian sources. While Iran has not disclosed details of potential further responses, its leadership has said it will give a harsh response.
Experts have noted that Iran's strategic defense capabilities have been severely compromised by Israel, casting doubt on the credibility of Khamenei’s promised responses.
In response to the attacks between Israel and Iran, the country has experienced further economic turmoil, with the US dollar now trading at 710,000 rials—the steepest decline in the value of the national currency to date.
On Monday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian drawn attention to the economic pressures facing the nation, saying the country faced an economic war rather than a purely military one.
Pezeshkian warned that economic hardships could pose a more significant threat to Iran than external military aggression, suggesting that economic resilience is now a primary focus of his administration.
“Today, we are facing an all-out economic war. What can bring us to our knees are economic problems, and our enemies are pursuing this goal, but we must not be defeated,” he said.
According to Pezeshkian, Iran’s missile capabilities are to deter aggression rather than provoke it. He explained that these weapons serve as a warning, ensuring that no nation could launch an attack on Iran without facing serious consequences.
"We developed missiles so that, like Gaza, Israel cannot bomb anywhere, anyone, at any time it wishes," Pezeshkian added.
On October 7 last year, Iran-backed Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israeli border areas, killing hundreds of civilians and taking scores hostage. Israel responded with extensive airstrikes targeting Gaza.
The spokesman for the parliament's health committee Salman Es’haghi confirmed that the deaths of at least 70 dialysis patients were due to aluminum-contaminated medication.
In June, Iran International reported that Samen Pharmaceutical Company, a subsidiary of the influential Astan Quds Razavi, is the sole producer of the medication.
Without revealing the manufacturer's identity, Es’haghi added that production of the medication has not been halted and while suggesting that a legal case was filed at the time, said the judiciary has yet to initiate serious legal action for accountability.
The Ministry of Health said Monday that the deaths were cases from the previous year, and that there is no cause for concern today.
The contamination surfaced in early 2024, initially with reports of fatalities among dialysis patients in Mashhad and Isfahan.
Early estimates cited 10 to 12 deaths, but as investigations progressed, the toll quickly climbed to 50, eventually reaching 70 confirmed deaths.
Symptoms included brain dysfunction, seizures, infections, and coma - all consistent with aluminum toxicity.
Es’haghi said that the initial assumption was low-quality production, but later findings suggested contamination with aluminum, leading to severe complications.
Criticizing the judiciary's slow response, Es'haghi said that months have passed without any significant action.
“If the judiciary continues to neglect its responsibilities,” he warned, “the Health Committee will disclose the name of the company and escalate the matter through other channels.”
Dialysis drug maker linked to sanctioned group
Headquartered in Mashhad and directly overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Astan Quds Razavi - the parent company of the drug producer Samen - has a long and complex history of influence over Iran’s pharmaceutical sector.
Former President Ebrahim Raisi previously served as the head of Astan Quds Razavi, a conglomerate with extensive holdings across Iran’s economy.
Astan Quds Razavi was sanctioned by the US primarily for being owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Iran’s Supreme Leader. Raisi’s successor as custodian, Ahmad Marvi, was also sanctioned under this designation.
The Iranian Food and Drug Administration first acknowledged issues with the dialysis solution in June, citing reports of adverse reactions linked to the product manufactured by Samen Pharmaceutical Company.
The Food and Drug Administration temporarily halted production, distribution, and use of the company’s peritoneal dialysis solution until further testing could be conducted; however, it remains unclear why production has resumed without confirmed safety improvements.
Samen Pharmaceutical Company, founded in 1984, holds a dominant position in Iran’s pharmaceutical industry as the sole producer of peritoneal dialysis solutions. Its shareholders include Astan Quds Razavi, which controls a 70% stake, along with the Iranian Retirement Fund and Hakim Pharmaceuticals.
Es’haghi said that the company's head admitted a lack of oversight on raw materials used in manufacturing, with aluminum-contaminated ingredients apparently slipping through quality control.
Iran’s dialysis patients, estimated at around 800,000, rely heavily on peritoneal dialysis solutions like those produced by Samen Pharmaceutical. Peritoneal dialysis involves using the abdominal lining as a membrane for filtering blood, and contamination of the solution can have severe, even fatal, consequences. Patients affected by the contaminated batch, distributed between December 2023 and May 2024, suffered irreversible damage.
Efforts to uncover details of the contamination have faced obstacles.
In June, when deaths were first reported, Samen Pharmaceutical reportedly informed journalists it was barred from commenting on the matter by a superior organization, believed to be Astan Quds Razavi.
This restriction has fueled public concern, as Astan Quds Razavi has previously been implicated in various allegations of corruption and misconduct.