The United States is escalating pressure on Iraq's government to sever ties with Iran-backed militia groups, citing more than 600 attacks against American diplomatic facilities since the Israel-Hamas war began. The Biden administration has moved beyond warnings into enforcement, sanctioning Iraqi officials and oil companies it says are funneling resources to Tehran-aligned forces.
The Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, a logistics hub for U.S. diplomats, has absorbed repeated drone strikes including one in mid-March. The U.S. Embassy itself was hit by fire in March. As recently as Tuesday, the embassy issued a stark warning to Americans to leave Iraq, stating that militia groups "continue to plot additional attacks against U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq."
On Thursday, the State Department sanctioned Iraq's Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij al-Bahadly, accusing him of abusing his position to divert Iraqi crude to support Iran's regime. According to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, Iraqi oil was mixed with Iranian oil and sold for Iran's benefit. The sanctions also targeted oil sector companies that support militia operations.
The enforcement action reflects deepening frustration with what U.S. officials describe as a blurred boundary between Iraq's state institutions and Iran-aligned militants. A senior State Department official told reporters Tuesday that "there is a very blurry line right now between the Iraqi state and these militias," adding that certain Iraqi government elements continue providing political, financial, and operational support to the groups.
Trump has personally weighed in, posting on social media last week about newly elected Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, wishing him "success as he works to form a new Government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq." In April, Deputy Secretary of State Landau summoned Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Khirullah to Washington and condemned the hundreds of attacks, emphasizing that the U.S. "expects the Iraqi government to immediately take all measures to dismantle the Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq."
The core challenge involves the Popular Mobilization Force, an Iraqi state security organization that was formally integrated into Iraq's national security forces. Originally formed in 2014 as an umbrella group of Shiite militias fighting the Islamic State with Iranian backing, the PMF has now become a fixture within Iraq's national security apparatus. That makes any purge both strategically complex and politically fraught.
State Department officials acknowledge the difficulty. "The U.S. does not underestimate the severity of the challenge or what it would take to disentangle these relationships," the senior official said, suggesting that concrete action from Baghdad would mean expelling militias, cutting off their funding, and denying government payments to militia members.
The White House is no longer accepting rhetoric from Iraqi leaders. The official stressed that al-Zaidi understands the U.S. is looking for "action, not words." One proposal floated internally is a "clear and unambiguous statement of policy that the terrorist militias are not part of the Iraqi state," which could mark the beginning of institutional separation.
Iraq's embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment on the sanctions or the broader U.S. demands.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "The U.S. is learning the hard way that sanctioning individual Iraqi officials may not move the needle if militias remain structurally embedded in Baghdad's security forces."
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