In a phone interview and before the issuance of an arrest warrant against him, Ahmad al-Alwani, a controversial Sunni politician, spoke to Al-Monitor about the future of Sunnis in Iraq. He said, “They are threatened with sectarian cleansing because of Iran and those pledging loyalty to Tehran in Iraq.”
He added, “In the protest square in Ramadi, everyone is waiting for the moment when Iraq is liberated from the Iranian occupation.” Alwani uses such terms when addressing the angry Sunni public, and seems to galvanize them and draws their favor.