Iran Linked to 2006 Shia Shrine Bombing

A senior leader of the Sadrist Movement, Awad al-Awadi, has accused Iran of being behind the 2006 bombing of the Askari shrine in Samarra, which triggered a deadly sectarian conflict in Iraq. The bombing, blamed on al-Qaeda, sparked years of sectarian violence, primarily affecting Sunni Arabs and resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. The aftermath of the attack is still visible today, with ongoing violence rooted in those events.

In an interview on Dijlah TV, al-Awadi stated that Iranian operatives had infiltrated Iraq around the time of the bombing, with reports indicating that Iran had a vested interest in igniting a sectarian war. He claimed Iran's goal was to destabilize Iraq and prevent national reconciliation or future sovereignty.

Iran used the same actions against opposition groups in the past to criminalise any voices against the ayatollah