In Iraq, Shiite cleric and politician Muqtada Al-Sadr has stirred up public opinion with a recent video released by his office. In the July 15 clip, he announced that the movement he heads will not participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for October.

The announcement came as a flood of criticism targeted the Sadrist movement after a disastrous fire at the Covid-19 ward of a hospital in Nasiriyah...