On May 6, Al Sumaria News reported that the head of the Islamic Supreme Council, Omar al-Hakim, warned of an impending "storm" of changes throughout the region. Hakim remained vague about what kind of upheavals the region was to expect, but stressed that Iraq would be in the middle of it. He called on Iraqi political leaders to confront the challenges with rationality and avoid escalatory political rhetoric. The Islamic Supreme Council is a Shiite political group in Iraq backed by Iran but considered far more moderate than other organizations.