US calls on Iraq to dismantle “Iran-aligned militias” after attacks

Shafaq News- Baghdad

The United States on Saturday urged Iraq to move swiftly against “Iran-aligned militias,” warning that persistent strikes on infrastructure and international interests —including in Iraqi Kurdistan— could deepen instability in the country.

A US State Department spokesperson told Shafaq News that Washington condemns recent strikes on infrastructure in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, attributing them to Tehran and its affiliated armed factions.

The comments followed a March 9 phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, during which both sides reviewed security developments across the region. According to the spokesperson, Rubio criticized the attacks linked to Iranian-backed groups during the conversation and urged Baghdad to take decisive measures, including dismantling those factions and preventing further assaults on domestic and international targets.

Rubio also stressed the importance of ensuring that Iraqi territory is not used to threaten the United States or regional stability, while expressing Washington’s expectation that Baghdad will strengthen state control over armed actors.

Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have experienced a series of drone and rocket attacks attributed to Iran-aligned armed factions amid the wider regional escalation.

Read more: Proxy escalation: Iraq caught between diplomacy and battlefield reality

For Shafaq News, Mostafa Hashem, Washington, D.C.