Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani calls for global solidarity with Iran and urges Islamic nations to seek a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis.

NAJAF: Iraq’s top Shiite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has denounced in the strongest terms what he called the unjust war on Iran.

Sistani, who was himself born in Iran, called on all Muslims and free people around the world to denounce the conflict and stand in solidarity with the Iranian people.

He urged all countries, particularly Islamic nations, to make every possible effort to end the war immediately and to reach a just and peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Despite his non-Iraqi roots, Sistani has been a vital figure in Iraq’s recent history, guiding his followers through decades of dictatorship, occupation and conflict.

His influence extends far beyond Iraq with millions of followers across the Muslim world.

Sistani has always maintained a complex relationship with his birthplace and was known for resisting Tehran’s growing influence in Iraq.

That stance partly stems from the centuries-old rivalry between the holy Iraqi city of Najaf and Iran’s Qom, the other main seat of Shiite religious authority.

Sistani has been seen as a competitor to Qom, and while Iran is ruled by clerics, he has always avoided any formal role in government.

On Sunday, Sistani mourned Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei following his death in US and Israeli strikes, urging Iranians to remain united to thwart the aggressors’ sinister goals.

 The Sun Malaysia