Prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rejected rumors of an assassination plot against him and warned that the country is in danger of internal conflict. The comments are the latest signs of tensions brewing in Iraq, which have been linked partly to his refusal to participate in the upcoming elections. 

Sadr visited the shrine for his father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, in the holy city of Najaf, where the supposed plot was to take place, on Monday, in an effort to cast doubt on the threat to his life. Still, he said in a statement posted to his X account on Monday that he is ready for any “escalation" in the event of an attack on him or his supporters. 

“If you want escalation, you know we are ready for it,” he said. “Your threats will not frighten us.”

Iraqi activist Ali Fadel claimed in a video post on X on Sunday that member of parliament Yasser al-Maliki planned to assassinate Sadr via a drone strike at the Najaf shrine. Sadr's armed group, Saraya al-Salam, deployed to the southern city of Basra in response, per local media reports. Saraya al-Salam is one of several militias in Iraq, with an estimated tens of thousands of members, and was founded by the cleric in 2014.