Baghdad- A meeting was successfully held in Karbala after escalated conflicts among parties of the National Alliance, the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament, mainly between Leader of Dawa Party, PM Haider al-Abadi and Leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, who threatened to break into the Green Zone unless Abadi took action.

The meeting was a result of pressure exerted by senior Shiite reference, represented by Ali al-Sistani along with Iranian delegation, which came specifically to restore peace between members of the National Alliance.

The meeting was attended by Haider al-Abadi, Moqtada al-Sadr, Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, head of the National Alliance, Hussein al-Shahristani, leader of the Independent bloc, and Khodair al-Khozaei Vice President of Iraq.

“Al-Abadi called for an urgent meeting on Saturday with the Iraqi President, Fuad Masum and the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Salim al-Jabouri to discuss latest political developments. The three leaders exchanged opinions regarding the view to be presented during the meeting in Karbala, a prominent leader in one of the Shiite blocs told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The source close to the matter added that President Masum encouraged al-Abadi to continue negotiations with Shiite leaders saying that the country would face troubles if such connections were lost.

The Iraqi source confirmed that Sunday’s meeting was preceded by a meeting held in Najaf between the Leader of Iraqi Supreme Council, Ammar al-Hakim and Muqtada al-Sadr ahead of Friday’s protests before the Green Zone.

The source said that Ammar al-Hakim asked al-Sadr to meet an Iranian delegation, which traveled to Iraq in order to help in unifying the Shiite parties. However, the source added, al-Sadr refused to meet the delegation thus ending the meeting without reaching any agreement.

“Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed his irritation from what was happening, and he wrote to another politician describing it as a disgrace. He expressed his willingness to use his influence within the army and the Popular Mobilization in order to change the situation in case it worsened and al-Abadi lost the ability to control it,” the source added.

Nevertheless, the Shiite leader considerd that al-Maliki fears that al-Sadr controlling the situation and letting his supporters enter the Green Zone would affect him negatively, given his aggravated relation with al-Sadr.

He explained that the Iranian reference forced al-Sadr to attend the meeting in Karbala, especially that the latter couldn’t attend Baghdad’s meeting and the leaders of the National Alliance refused to meet him in Najaf.

Regarding the outcomes of the meeting that was held in Karbala on Sunday, the Shiite leader said that the leaders of the National Alliance informed al-Abadi that he had to resolve four main issues concerning terrorism, economic crisis, political crisis, and the comprehensive reform. They also asked him to submit a strategic plan within a week to be adopted by the National Alliance.