In a highly firm and decisive political speech delivered in mid-April 2026, the prominent leader of the National Wisdom Movement, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, strongly emphasized that the fundamental and unwavering principle in drafting both internal and external policies must definitively be "Iraq First." Al-Hakim fiercely stressed that Iraq represents an incredibly diverse and complex societal fabric, and absolutely no internal or external party can impose its unilateral will on all Iraqis through the illegitimate force of arms or blatant political intimidation. He passionately called for the absolute necessity of strategic, calculated openness to all countries of the world strictly according to the enduring principle of mutual interests and the complete, uncompromised respect for national sovereignty, entirely far from the destructive policy of regional axes. Al-Hakim's powerful statements come in the direct context of feverish political mobilization witnessed in Iraq amidst intense regional polarizations, making this stance a crystal-clear message to external actors to respect Iraq's independence.