Iraqi Prime Minister Interrupts Visit to Summit in Egypt as Protests Resume in Baghdad

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi has cut short his visit to the Egyptian city of El-Alamein and the participation in an energy and security summit of the Arab leaders after protests resumed in Baghdad, his office said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the protests by supporters of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr resumed near the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and completely blocked the institution's operation.

"On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi cut short his visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt and returned to Baghdad after the developments in the recent events in the country and for the direct follow-up to the performance of the duties of the security forces in protecting the institutions of the judiciary and the state," the statement read.

The prime minister called on all political parties to "calm down and to take advantage of the opportunity for national dialogue to get the country out of its current crisis."

Kadhimi also called for an immediate meeting of the political parties' leaders to activate the national dialogue procedures and defuse the crisis.

Sadr's supporters are rallying against the nomination of Mohammed Sudani for the post of prime minister by the Coordination Framework, an Iran-backed alliance of Shiite forces forming the largest bloc in the Iraqi legislature.

Iraq has been facing a political deadlock since the parliamentary elections in October 2021. Sadr's political bloc won the elections but reverted to the opposition in May and stepped down in June after several unsuccessful attempts to form a government.