Sadr so far cool to UN mediation to break Iraqi political deadlock
United Nations special representative Jeanine Plasschaert met with Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, but so far there are no signs of a compromise.
Thousands of Shiite protesters gathered in Grand Festivities Square in the heart of Baghdad's Green Zone to perform Friday prayer, summoned by populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to send a message to his rivals.
Huge numbers of pro-Sadrists from Baghdad and other provinces overflowed the public areas of the square, a national symbol for Iraq and the site of most of the country's military parades.
Two days earlier, Sadr called for fundamental changes in the Iraqi political system. He asked for the removal of the political class after 2003 and demanded the dissolution of the current parliament and another set of early elections.
Sadr has rejected the prime ministerial candidate of the the Coordination Framework, a rival alliance of Shia parties, including those aligned with Iran.
