WASHINGTON, DC - The United States on Monday called on Iraq to ensure full command over all security forces operating within its borders, including the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and reiterated the need to limit Iranian influence.
“To strengthen Iraq’s sovereignty, the Government of Iraq must ensure it has command and control of all security forces within its borders, to include the PMF,” a US Department of State official told Rudaw in an email. “These forces must respond to Iraq’s commander-in-chief and not to Iran.”
The PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, was formed in 2014 following a fatwa by Iraq’s highest Shiite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to combat the Islamic State (ISIS) after the extremists swept through much of northern and western Iraq. The paramilitary umbrella initially included around 70 predominantly Shiite groups with an estimated 250,000 fighters.
Although the PMF was given formal legal status by the Iraqi parliament in 2016, some of its factions remain outside state control and remain hostile to Washington, having been involved in attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria.
“We are concerned about Iran-aligned militias which operate within the PMF, including individuals and groups affiliated with designated foreign terrorist organizations. These groups continue to engage in violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq,” the State Department stressed.
In March, Iraq’s parliament held its first reading of a contentious law that seeks to further integrate the PMF into state security forces.
Washington has long criticized the influence of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, warning of their growing sway over the country's security apparatus and political institutions.
In May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned what he described as “growing” Iranian influence in the Iraqi government, calling it “a great danger to the United States.”
Following the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow militia groups backed by Iran, launched over 165 rocket and drone strikes against US military installations in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war.
Hostilities have largely subsided since late 2024, and security talks between Washington and Baghdad laid the groundwork for a phased US military withdrawal.
