It looked to many Iraqis like the beginning of a civil war, but the fighting that broke out last week was over almost as quickly as it started. But there's a difference between stable and stuck, and Iraq is still in the same political stalemate that sparked the violence. And at the center of it all is Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr and his unexpected retirement from politics. Is Iraq in the calm before the storm, or will cooler heads prevail once again? 

In this episode:

• Imran Khan (@ajimran), Al Jazeera senior correspondent
• Ali Hashem (@alihashem_tv), Al Jazeera senior journalist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Alexandra Locke with Chloe K. Li, Ruby Zaman, Amy Walters, Negin Owliaei and Halla Mohieddeen. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera English’s head of audio.

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