Washington Must Pressure Baghdad to Disarm Iran’s Proxy Militias in Iraq

Gaza and Yemen are well established as two arenas of the ongoing struggle between the United States and Iran, but Iraq is another vital stage that has garnered comparatively less attention. That may now be changing; on April 7, the commanders of four major Iran-backed militias in Iraq said that their groups are willing to disarm amid reports of the Trump administration increasing its pressure on the Iraqi government to dismantle Tehran’s Iraqi proxies.

Such a process is unlikely to unfold smoothly. Shortly after the April 7 statement, Kataib Hezbollah — the most powerful Iranian-backed militia, which is responsible for the deaths of many U.S. personnel — disavowed its anonymous commander’s remark that he wanted to avoid the “bad scenario” of a war with the United States, in keeping with other recent militia comments on disarmament. Nevertheless, Tehran has a vested interest in deescalating its regional provocations as it begins talks with Washington over its nuclear program.

Iran-Backed Militias and Politicians Dominate Iraq’s Military and Political Arena

The signatories to the April 7 statement serve as commanders of powerful factions within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a network of militias predominantly loyal to Tehran that numbers nearly 240,000 operatives. In its 2024 budget, the Iraqi government granted the PMF $3.5 billion. Formed as an organ of the Iraqi government in 2014 to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group presently operates with a vague mandate unmodified since its 2016 authorizing legislation but with very real power and an anti-American ethos that has translated into extensive violence against U.S. personnel and interests.

While the PMF is not uniformly under Iranian control, most of the network remains loyal to the Islamic Republic. Akram al-Kaabi, the secretary general of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, another militia that expressed readiness to disarm, has made clear his loyalty to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, going so far as to express his willingness to overthrow the Iraqi government if requested by Tehran. As part of Iran’s deterrence strategy against the United States and Israel, the PMF received long-range missiles from Tehran at the beginning of April through a delivery coordinated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the London-based The Times.

Iran has aggressively deployed other militias as well. Following the overthrow of the Iranian-backed Syrian dictator of Bashar al-Assad, Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun — two U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) comprising Afghan and Pakistani fighters loyal to Tehran — relocated from Syria to PMF-controlled locations in Iraq.

Tehran’s Proxies Respond to Washington’s Pressure

Despite having rejected the Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s request to disarm, Iran-backed militias have gradually deescalated their attacks against the United States and Israel since the November 2024 elections. The Iran-backed Iraqi al-Nujaba militia stated on December 24 that a number of PMF factions had agreed to halt attacks on Israel.

Esmail Ghaani, the commander of the IRGC-Quds Force, which is tasked with the regime’s external operations, instructed the PMF to cease attacking U.S. forces in Iraq in February. Ghaani again reaffirmed this approach during a March 19 meeting with Iran-backed militias and commanders, urging “Iraq’s neutrality in regional conflicts.” Washington’s decision to launch preemptive strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen prompted Ghaani’s emergency visit to Iraq in March to ensure that the militias — Iran’s last undamaged proxy — avoided provoking the United States.

The United States Should Pursue Militia Disarmament

Reports of possible disarmament may be positive, but they need to be followed by meaningful action. Halting sanction waivers for Iraq to pay for energy imports was a significant first step toward curbing the regime’s influence in Iraq. Maintaining pressure for militia disarmament is the crucial next step. The United States can leverage the millions of dollars it provides to Iraq annually in aid and foreign military financing to ensure the Iraqi government stops funding and enabling Iranian proxies.

Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where she focuses on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis. Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he focuses on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s malign regional influence. For more analysis from Bridget, Janatan, and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, non-partisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.