US cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr returned to Iraq Wednesday from years of self-imposed exile in Iran, after his faction struck a deal to join a new government, Sadrist officials said. A somewhat diminished maverick whose militia was once viewed by US forces as the greatest threat to Iraq, Al-Sadr's return could boost Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki as he tries to form his second government before a full US withdrawal this year. Mazan Al-Sadi, a Sadrist cleric in Baghdad, said Al-Sadr was visiting Najaf in southern Iraq. “His return brings happiness for all Iraqis and the government,” said Natiq Abdul Majeed, a resident of Baghdad's mainly Shiite Karrada district. “It will cancel many negative issues like sectarianism and fix relations between the parties.” Sadi said Moqtada also visited his father's grave before going to his family house in Hanana. Government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said Al-Sadr's return was positive for political stability. But many Iraqi Sunnis may view it with apprehension. Al-Sadr, the scion of a Shiite family, galvanized anti-US sentiment after the overthrow of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and led two uprisings against US forces in 2004. His Mehdi Army was crushed by Al-Maliki in 2008 and has largely laid down its arms, though US officials still regard it with suspicion. Al-Sadr has pushed steadfastly for an earlier US withdrawal than the end-2011 deadline set in a bilateral security pact. He fled Iraq in 2006 or 2007 after an arrest warrant was issued for him and is believed to have spent the past few years in the Iranian city of Qom taking religious studies. Sadrist officials said the government had guaranteed his safety and freedom from arrest. Whether his return is permanent will depend on how things go, one said. “Moqtada returns as an important partner in parliament, in the political process and the executive power,” said Iraqi political analyst Ibrahim Al
