WASHINGTON - A US State Department official said Washington wants Iran-backed groups excluded from Iraq’s next government, as Baghdad moves to form a new administration amid intensified US pressure to curb Iranian influence.
“Members of those Iran-backed militias should have no place in Iraq’s government, not least because they do not work for Iraq or the Iraqi people,” a State Department official told Rudaw, adding that “they undermine Iraq’s sovereignty, threaten Americans and Iraqis, and pilfer Iraq's resources for Iran.”
Washington has increased pressure on Baghdad to reduce Tehran’s influence and limit the role of Iran-backed armed groups. The United States is reportedly urging Iraq to dissolve all armed factions, including those formally integrated into state structures such as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
Several political wings of armed factions won seats in the November parliamentary elections. The Sadiqoon Bloc, affiliated with the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) armed group - designated a terrorist organization by the US - secured 27 of the 329 parliamentary seats. Sadiqoon member Adnan Faihan was elected first deputy speaker of parliament on Monday during the legislature’s first session of its sixth term.
The US official pointed to earlier remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying that “Iran-backed militias must be disarmed and dismantled.”
“President Trump has expressed readiness for talks that lead to the end of Iran’s nuclear enrichment, the end of their ballistic missile program, and the end of their support for terrorist proxies. The door is open, but Iran continues to refuse good-faith negotiations,” the official said.
A draft of the latest US National Defense Authorization Act links continued US financial assistance to Iraq to measurable reductions in the capabilities of Iran-aligned militias. The legislation also bans any US assistance to the pro-Iran Badr Organization, led by Hadi al-Ameri, which won 18 seats in the most recent elections.
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan said on Wednesday that AAH, Kata’ib Imam Ali, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya have committed to restricting weapons to the hands of the government.
Saad Saadi, a politburo member of the Sadiqoon Bloc, told Rudaw last week that limiting weapons to state control stems from directives by Iraq’s religious authority and aims to strengthen confidence in the PMF and other security forces.
He said the approach also includes developing and equipping the forces, supporting the political process, and strengthening state institutions within a constitutional and legal framework. Saadi added that foreign interference should be prevented, stressing that the matter is an Iraqi decision.
A senior official from Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada told Rudaw, on condition of anonymity, that the group has no plans to disarm and that the issue of handing over weapons has not been discussed internally.
Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful pro-Iran militia designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, is among the groups that have publicly rejected disarmament.