Shi’ite clerics Muqtada al-Sadr and Ali Husseini al-Sistani say they have arranged a peace deal in Najaf: Aide: Al-Sistani Brokers Najaf Peace Deal.

NAJAF, Iraq - Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Thursday to a peace deal presented by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani to end three weeks of fighting in the holy city of Najaf, according to a top aide to al-Sistani.

Al-Sistani, the most influential cleric among Iraq’s Shiite majority, reached the deal in direct talks with al-Sadr in the evening, only hours after making a dramatic return to Najaf.

The five-point plan called for Najaf and Kufa to be declared weapons-free cities, for all foreign forces to withdraw from Najaf, for police to be in charge of security, for the government to compensate those harmed by the fighting and for a census to be taken to prepare for elections expected in the country by January.

But first, the infidels have to stop polluting the holy city with their presence.

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) — Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s foremost Shiite cleric, wants U.S.-led military forces to leave Najaf and nearby Kufa as a condition for establishing peace with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his militia, said a London aide to the ayatollah.

“They have to leave the towns of Najaf and Kufa,” said Jaffar Bassam, speaking by telephone from London and translating from Arabic for Murtadha al-Kashmiri, an aide to al-Sistani. “Only Iraqi police and national guard forces can stay.”