The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baghdad

Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday renewed threats to resume attacks on U.S. forces, and the country's top Shiite cleric was quoted as saying he would intervene if a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact infringed on Iraqi sovereignty.

The statements deepened unease over the deal, which would allow American troops to stay in Iraq for three more years after their U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31. Iraqi officials say they will seek a renewal of the mandate if the pact is not signed by then.

Al-Sadr's threat came in a statement by the Iran-based cleric that was read to supporters gathered for Friday prayers in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City enclave and the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad.

"I repeat my call on the occupier to get out from the land of our beloved Iraq, without retaining bases or signing agreements," al-Sadr said. "If they do stay, I urge the honorable resistance fighters t to direct their weapons exclusively against the occupier."

The statement did not say exactly when and under what conditions such attacks might resume.

In the holy city of Najaf, an official close to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said the Iranian-born cleric has vowed to "directly intervene" if the final version of the agreement breached the country's sovereignty. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Al-Sistani wields vast influence among Iraq's majority Shiites, and the agreement will virtually have no chance of being passed by parliament if he publicly states his opposition to it.

He has in the past forced the United States to scrap or revise political blueprints for Iraq, sending hundreds of thousands of supporters to the streets in 2004 to back his demand for a general election. The vote was held in January 2005.