How a 92-year-old cleric silently halted Iraq's slide back into war

FILE PHOTO: A building is illuminated with a picture of Pope Francis with Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Baghdad, Iraq March 7, 2021. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily/File Photo

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - When a pronouncement by a religious scholar in Iran drove Iraq to the brink of civil war last week, there was only one man who could stop it: a 92-year-old Iraqi Shi'ite cleric who proved once again he is the most powerful man in his country.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani said nothing in public about the unrest that erupted on Iraq's streets. But government officials and Shi'ite insiders say it was only Sistani's stance behind the scenes that halted a meltdown.