DUBAI, UAE - Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday accused the United States and Israel of fueling global instability and called on world leaders, particularly in Muslim-majority countries, to resist American policies.

In a worded statement, Sadr said the world had become a “chessboard and battlefield” due to what he described as reckless US and Israeli interventions. He cited wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen, and Lebanon, along with rising tensions between Morocco and Algeria, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Pakistan and India.

Sadr criticized international silence over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, likening global inaction to the biblical Companions of the Trench, who witnessed suffering without intervention.

“The domination of this corrupt clique over the world means the weakening of all countries,” Sadr said, warning that America’s current allies could face the same fate as former leaders Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

He also pointed to economic and military escalations as part of what he called an American agenda to impose global control, mentioning countries as diverse as New Zealand, Switzerland, Mexico, and Canada.

Sadr has been a vocal opponent of the US presence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. He founded the Mahdi Army, a militia that led an insurgency against American and Global Coalition Forces during the Iraq War. Over the years, he has consistently called for the expulsion of US troops and diplomats from Iraq and accused Washington of exacerbating regional tensions by providing unwavering support to Israel.

His remarks Wednesday reinforce his longstanding stance against Western involvement in the Middle East and come amid renewed scrutiny of US foreign policy, particularly in light of ongoing conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere.

“I conclude with the words of Imam Hussein: ‘If you do not have religion and do not fear the Hereafter, then be free in your worldly affairs,’” Sadr said.