US urges Iraq to rein in Iran-backed armed groups

WASHINGTON DC - The United States remains “concerned” that some members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) “are not responsive” to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's command and “engage in violent and destabilizing” activities in the region, urging Baghdad to rein the Iran-backed groups, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday.

The Iraqi Parliament on Monday passed the 2024 budget, providing more than 4.5 trillion IQD (about $3.5 billion) to the PMF, including some Iran-backed groups in Iraq.

This has raised eyebrows in Washington DC, especially since some of the groups under the PMF umbrella are not under Sudani's authority and were involved in past attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria.

“We do remain concerned that individuals within the PMF are not responsive to the Iraqi commander in chief and engage in violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq and Syria,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told Rudaw in a press briefing.

"Attacks against U.S. and coalition service members as well as Iraqi’s security service members and businesses undermine Iraq’s security and economy. And we continue to urge the Iraqi Government to rein in these individuals and hold them accountable for breaking Iraqi law," he added.

However, the Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, known as the Islamic Resistance Group in Iraq, have scaled down their attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. These groups have ramped up their rocket and missile attacks on Israel in recent weeks.

On Thursday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq stated that it carried out two attacks with the Yemeni Houthis on Haifa Port in Israel. Later, the leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said their operations with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq against Israel would intensify.

“We have long made clear that we oppose any attacks by the various militia groups, Iranian-sponsored militia groups, against the Government of Israel, and that we are prepared to help Israel defend itself against those attacks," Miller said, labeling the cooperation between the two groups as "incredibly concerning."

Miller stated that his government's policy is to pressure the Iraqi government to prevent these groups from using Iraqi soil to launch attacks against Israel and US interests in the region.

The US does not want the conflict in Gaza to expand and remains concerned about the risk of escalation, according to Miller.