On June 23, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in the United Arab Emirates for a visit to the Middle East.
Speaking on the tarmac, he made an important point about threats that have come from militias in Iraq.
Iran’s Drones That Russia Is Using. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
“You can’t have the end of hostilities and conflicts in the region as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq, and are participating in terrorism like Hamas did and Hezbollah did,” Rubio said.
Iraq Has an Iran Problem That Must Be Solved
His comment is important. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have been attacking countries in the region for a decade.
They have also been attacking people in Iraq, particularly the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
The militias, of which there are more than a dozen affiliated with the government-backed paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces, have complex origins.
Some of them, such as the Badr Organization, have links to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that go back to the 1980s.
Former Kataib Hezbollah militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was wanted for embassy bombings in Kuwait in the 1980s.
Iraq’s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has indicated he is seeking to rein in the militias. He is planning a trip to Washington in July.
As such, he wants to show that he can help comply with US demands to curtail the militias and disconnect them from the government of Iraq.
A Longtime Issue
Many of the militias have been sanctioned by the US over the last decade. Back in 2019, the US sanctioned militia leader Qais al-Khazali of Asaib Ahl al Haq for involvement in attacks on Iraqi protesters.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kataib al-Imam Ali have all been sanctioned by the US in various forms.
In April, under what the US Department of the Treasury called “Economic Fury,” the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated seven Iraqi militia commanders.
The US said these men were “responsible for planning, directing, and executing attacks against U.S. personnel, facilities, and interests in Iraq.”
These included key individuals from Kataib Hizballah, Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Harakat Al-Nujaba, and Asaib Ahl Al-Haqq.
“These militias operate with near impunity, attacking U.S. personnel and innocent civilians across Iraq, siphoning Iraq’s wealth to finance their terrorist activities, and undermining Iraq’s sovereignty and democratic processes,” the Department of the Treasury said.
Time for Iraq to Respond
With all the tools at the US’s disposal to sanction the militias and offer rewards for information leading to their leaders, it is now up to Iraq to push the ball into the end zone.
Iraq has received US backing for decades, most recently as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the war on ISIS. The US is wrapping up its role in Iraq these days.
US forces have mostly been moved to the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. Iraq’s new prime minister and his government have been paying lip service to coordinating with the Kurdistan Region to help defend against drone and missile attacks.
This is important because Iran and the Iranian-backed militias have targeted the Kurdistan region with more than 800 drone and missile attacks.
The militias also targeted US diplomatic facilities in Baghdad. They kidnapped US journalist Shelly Kittelson and also Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov.
Kittelson was released in early April after a week being held by Kataib Hezbollah. Tsurkov was released in September 2023 after 900 days being held by Kataib Hezbollah.
US pressure helped secure both releases. This shows that US pressure can work. Now it is time for Baghdad to do the work.
Iraq has the resources. It has an army. It has police.
The problem is that the militias have sought to infiltrate institutions for years. This has included attempts to infiltrate the Interior Ministry and Federal Police.
The militias also secured Baghdad’s support for recognition as an official paramilitary force within the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Now the question is whether Baghdad can secure the weapons of the militias and the PMF and keep those weapons under state control.
This kind of disarmament is the same challenge that is being felt regarding the Iranian-backed proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, and other places.
It is clear that the Iranian regime’s agenda is always to create these kinds of militias and then weaken the state.
Iraq Is in Play
It was made a frontline state by Iran during the recent conflict.
The hundreds of attacks by Iran in Iraq and the use of the militias to threaten Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other countries are part of Tehran’s regional strategy.
Tehran uses the militias as part of a series of chess moves in the region. Now it is time for Iraq, with US support, to remove from militias pawns from the board. This is possible.
All of the militias have weak points. Some are stronger than others. Some are closer to the IRGC than others.
As Iraq’s prime minister prepares for his US visit, he needs to verify that more is being done regarding the militias. Initial steps have already been made.
Now is the key time in the region to focus on this issue. US Secretary of State Rubio’s statement in the UAE makes it clear that Washington is focused on this issue and can keep its eye on the ball in Iraq.
About the Author: Seth J. Frantzman
Seth J. Frantzman is the senior Middle East Correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post . He has covered the war against Islamic State, several Gaza wars, the conflict in Ukraine, refugee crises in Eastern Europe, and also reported from Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Senegal, the UAE, Ukraine, and Russia since 2011. He is the author of three books: The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024), Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future (2021), and After ISIS: America, Iran and the Struggle for the Middle East (2019). He is an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
