He said he listened carefully to top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s remarks conveyed in Friday prayer sermons in the holy city of Karbala today who urged the Iraqi parliament, “which the current government originates from, to review its options, given the difficult circumstances of the country and the apparent inability of the relevant parties to deal with the recent two-month-long developments in protecting rights and preventing bloodshed.”
Abdul Mahdi said that to do the top cleric’s demand, he would submit his resignation to the parliament as soon as possible so that the lawmakers could review their options.
It comes after nearly two months of anti-government protests.
Over 300 people have been killed in the Iraq unrest since October 1, according to the Iraqi parliament’s human rights commission.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Defense Minister Najah al-Shammari said a “third party” was behind shootings targeting demonstrators.