Iran-backed Iraqi militias may lash out amid increased pressure from US - analysis

NOVEMBER 8, 2026 14:37As Iran feels pressure from US sanctions and the blockade in the Gulf, as well as a new campaign by the US to cut it off from supplies via its land borders and the Caspian, the militias it backs in Iraq may lash out.Iran has spread the war to Iraq and has sought for decades to influence Iraqi politics using militias and political groups.One of the militias, Kataib Hezbollah, slammed Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi over the weekend, accusing him and his top aide of "amassing billions of dollars in alleged illicit wealth, while denying that the armed group controls commercial contracts at Iraqi airports and threatening to expose alleged plots targeting the Kurdistan Region’s Khor Mor gas field,” according to Rudaw media."How was your massive financial empire built, which Mr. al-Zaidi acknowledged, amounting to nearly 21 trillion dinars - that is, more than 13 billion dollars? And how was this wealth collected in a period of time not exceeding 10 years, so that perhaps hardworking youth may benefit from it in earning their livelihood," Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, Kataib Hezbollah's security chief, wrote in a statement published on Telegram.This illustrates how Kataib Hezbollah is now trying to challenge the Iraqi government and its leader. Kataib Hezbollah, like its counterpart in Lebanon, Hezbollah, is a key part of the Iranian proxy network. Kataib Hezbollah has carried out attacks on US forces in Iraq in the past. It has also attacked Saudi Arabia and killed three American service members in Jordan in January 2024. It also kidnapped researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov. It is basically the worst of the worst in terms of Iranian-backed groups in Iraq.Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad for five militants killed a day earlier in a US strike in northern Iraq, on December 4, 2023. (credit: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)Now Rudaw notes that “Assaf also warned against opening files concerning alleged plots to target the Kurdistan Region’s Khor Mor gas field, saying: ‘We do not want to air dirty laundry in public, nor open the files of [Khor Mor] and the incitement to target it for the purpose of extorting the UAE; for whoever's house is made of glass should not throw stones at people.’”The Khor Mor field is in the Kurdistan Region between Sulimaniyeh and Kirkuk. It is key to the Kurdistan Region’s energy grid.Kataib Hezbollah may be feeling pressure from Baghdad. Zaidi has demanded groups like Kataib Hezbollah hand over their arms to the government. There are a dozen similar groups in Iraq, militias of various size backed by Iran. These include Badr, Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, Kataib al-Imam Ali, and others.Iran backing militias in Iraq to expand influenceIran-backed militias in Iraq have played a central role in expanding Tehran’s influence in the country, particularly through their involvement in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Several of these groups have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) by the United States, reflecting their involvement in attacks and other activities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).Kataib Hezbollah was designated an FTO in July 2009. The group has been linked to attacks on US forces in Iraq and the wider region. Asaib Ahl al-Haq, led by Qais al-Khazali, was designated an FTO in January 2020. Both organizations have maintained close relationships with Iran while also participating in Iraq’s political and security landscape.In September 2025, the US expanded its FTO designations to include four additional Iraqi militias: Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, led by Akram al-Kaabi; Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, associated with Abu Alaa al-Walaei; Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya; and Kataib al-Imam Ali. These organizations had previously been subject to US terrorism-related sanctions.Other influential Iran-backed factions have not been designated FTOs. These include the Badr Organization, led by Hadi al-Amiri, which has longstanding ties to Iran and significant influence within Iraq’s political and security institutions. Saraya al-Khorasani and Kataib Jund al-Imam are also associated with Iran-aligned militia networks.The Islamic Resistance in Iraq serves as an umbrella identity used by several Iran-backed factions to claim attacks. The PMF itself, which includes numerous armed groups with differing allegiances, is not designated an FTO by the United States.Rudaw adds that “Zaidi initially set the end of September as the deadline for armed factions to surrender their weapons, coinciding with the end of the United States-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq, before extending the timetable to the end of June 2027.” This is one reason the militias feel pressure.Iran-backed militias involved in Mosul airport corruptionMeanwhile, the militias appear to have been involved in corruption at Mosul airport. Mosul was liberated from ISIS in June 2017. It has been reconstructed. However, militias took over swaths of Nineveh plains and have played a role in Mosul. “Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Saturday ordered the cancellation of three commercial contracts at Mosul International Airport over the companies’ alleged links to armed groups, directing that the contracts be awarded to international firms, Iraqi state media reported,” Rudaw noted.According to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), citing a source, Zaidi has directed “the cancellation of the contract of 'Sky Plus' company for leasing counters at Mosul Airport against the backdrop of its links to armed groups, and its referral to international companies."In his recent statement, Assaf dismissed reports by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television network alleging that Kataib Hezbollah controls contracts inside Iraqi airports as a "blatant lie" and part of a "media war" waged against the pro-Iran Axis of Resistance, Rudaw noted.Follow us on Google