In Iraq, tensions are escalating between State of Law bloc leader Nouri Al-Maliki and Shiite cleric and politician Muqtada Al-Sadr. The rise in tensions follows the leaking of a series of inflammatory voice recordings, which began on July 13. In audio posted online, a man—allegedly Maliki, a former prime minister (2006-14)—is heard accusing Sadr of killing Iraqis, being a British agent, and attempting to exclude his rivals from power. Rife with references to past battles between the two men, the recordings have sparked a row more serious than any ordinary squabble.

The leaks arrive at a delicate moment in Iraq’s government formation process, which has dragged on since the Oct. 2021 parliamentary elections. The recordings are dominating headlines and threaten to disrupt plans to elect a president and appoint a prime minister. Against this backdrop, some observers have questioned whether they were leaked to instigate strife between rival camps within the Shiite bloc, with Sadr on one side and Maliki and others like Qais Al-Khazali, the head of Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq, on the other...