Prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Thursday that the Iraqi people would make decisions for themselves without interference from the U.S. or Iran.

“Our decisions will be made in Iraq, not outside,” al-Sadr tweeted.

“No to occupation; no to domination,” he added, referring to the U.S. and Iran respectively.

Al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition came in first in last Saturday’s parliamentary election, followed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Victory Coalition and the Al-Fatih bloc, which is associated with Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi.

Al-Sadr’s coalition did not win the majority needed to form a government alone but will play a primary role in selecting the next prime minister.

Al-Sadr said he hoped to establish a “technocrat” cabinet far removed from narrow sectarian biases.

Known for his hostile approach to the U.S., al-Sadr is one of the few Shia leaders that does not have close ties with Iran.

Iraqis voted on Saturday in the country’s first parliamentary election since 2014.



This article has been adapted from its original source.