The Iraqi government and major political forces are dealing seriously with U.S. demands to ensure that Iran-aligned militias are not included in the next government, an Iraqi government adviser told the Alhurra website on Friday.
The adviser, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the current Iraqi government and the main political forces that won seats in the elections fully understand the seriousness of failing to comply with the demands of President Donald Trump’s administration regarding the disarmament of militias and the importance of excluding them from any future Iraqi government.
“The message was delivered directly from U.S. officials to their Iraqi counterparts and to leaders of the political forces, and it was clear: there is no place for militias. Otherwise, there will be catastrophic consequences for Iraq,” the adviser said.
Among the consequences Washington has threatened, according to the same source, is the imposition of sanctions on oil revenues that are deposited at the U.S. Federal Reserve and transferred in monthly installments to the Iraqi government.
The United States has also threatened the possibility of imposing sanctions on Iraq’s oil sector and on prominent political figures, the Iraqi adviser said.
Another pressure point raised by Washington, according to the adviser, concerns Iraq’s imports of Iranian gas, on which the country relies to generate electricity, and the possibility of the immediate termination of the sanctions waiver that the United States has granted Iraq for several years in this area.
He concluded by stressing that there is near consensus among Iraqi political forces to move forward with disarming militias and integrating their members into the official security apparatus, in line with U.S. demands.
The U.S. State Department has not yet responded to inquiries on the matter sent by Alhurra via email.
Earlier this week, a State Department spokesperson told Alhurra that Washington, under President Trump’s leadership, is seeking to build a U.S.-Iraq relationship that aligns with U.S. interests.
“More importantly,” the spokesperson added, “Iraqi leaders must understand that including Iran-backed terrorist militias in the Iraqi government, in any form, is incompatible with building a strong partnership between the United States and Iraq.”
The spokesperson said the United States has “consistently stressed the need to dismantle armed groups that pledge loyalty to an external agenda, because doing so undermines Iraqi sovereignty, weakens Iraq, threatens Iraqis and Americans, and drags Iraq into regional conflicts.”
The issue of armed groups linked to Iran is considered one of the most sensitive matters to which the United States has given clear priority during the Trump administration, as U.S. officials repeatedly warn that these factions pose a threat to Iraq’s stability and to U.S. interests in the region.
Washington has consistently pressured Baghdad to curb the ability of these militias to target U.S. bases or interests and to avoid using state resources to fuel external influence, a reference to Iran.
Iraq relies primarily on oil sales revenues to fund public sector salaries, meet government obligations, import food and medicine, and finance the state budget. Since 2003, these revenues have been deposited in an account in the name of the Iraqi government at the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The mechanism is intended to protect Iraqi funds from legal claims and compensation demands stemming from Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The Iraqi adviser explained that “any disruption in U.S. financial transfers would mean the immediate paralysis of the Iraqi state, as it would lead to delays in paying salaries, a shortage of dollars and possibly a collapse in the value of the national currency.”
Iraqi political forces are currently focused on forming a new government amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to distance the country from Iran and to resolve the issue of militia weapons. These militias are accused of exploiting the country’s financial system to finance their activities and provide an economic lifeline to their ally, Tehran.
So far, a new speaker of the Iraqi parliament has been chosen. A new president is scheduled to be elected next week, to be followed by the selection of a new prime minister.
Under Iraq’s political custom, the prime minister is Shiite, the parliament speaker is Sunni, and the president is Kurdish.
At present, responsibility for nominating a new prime minister rests with the Coordination Framework, an umbrella grouping that includes most Shiite parties and forces that won seats in the elections. It includes political wings that possess armed militias loyal to Tehran and holds about 180 seats out of the parliament’s 329.
Recently, the chances of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki securing a third term have risen, following the withdrawal of current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani from the race.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Ghassan Taqi
A journalist specializing in Iraqi affairs, he has worked with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) since 2015. He previously spent several years with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as various Iraqi and Arab media outlets.
