The U.S. State Department told Alhurra that Washington is not waiting for political pledges from Iraq’s prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi and other Iraqi leaders regarding Iran-backed armed factions. Instead, it is looking for “actions, not words,” indicating that President Donald Trump’s administration will judge Zaidi’s appointment based on the next government’s ability to deal with one of Iraq’s most complex issues: the influence of these factions and their weapons outside state control.
The State Department’s comment came in response to an inquiry about how Zaidi’s selection might affect conditions in Iraq, and whether the United States believes the level of threat posed by armed factions in the country has decreased following this step.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Alhurra: “Iraqi leaders, including the Prime Minister-designate, understand what the United States is looking for when it comes to Iran-backed terrorist militias in Iraq. We’re looking for action, not words.”
For several months, Washington has been exerting significant pressure on the government of current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and leaders of the Coordination Framework (the ruling Shiite alliance) to take firm action against weapons held by Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions.
This pressure intensified with the outbreak of war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other on February 28, and with Iraqi factions siding with Tehran in the conflict by targeting U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq.
Many of these factions have political wings within the Coordination Framework and hold influential parliamentary representation following the November 2025 elections.
In recent weeks, Washington has taken tougher measures by halting the flow of dollar shipments from Iraqi oil revenues to Baghdad and suspending high-level security cooperation between the two sides, in order to pressure the Iraqi government to deal more seriously with armed factions.
Washington’s Conditions?
A senior U.S. State Department official said in a briefing sent to media outlets that “there is a very blurry line right now between the Iraqi state and these militias.”
The official spoke of “tangible” steps Iraqi authorities must take, saying such measures would give the United States “confidence and confirm the existence of a new approach.”
“And it would start with expelling terrorist militias from any state institution, cutting off their support from the Iraqi budget, denying salary payments to these militia fighters,” the U.S. official emphasized.
He added: “I do not underestimate the seriousness of the challenge or what it may require to disentangle these overlapping relationships,” but noted, “this can begin with a clear and unambiguous political declaration that terrorist militias are not part of the Iraqi state.”
The official accused some entities within the Iraqi state of continuing to provide “political, financial, and operational cover” for these factions.
The U.S. State Department official revealed that American facilities in Iraq were subjected to more than 600 attacks during the recent regional conflict between Washington and Tehran.
On April 27, the Coordination Framework announced the nomination of Ali al-Zaidi for the position of prime minister. The nomination was welcomed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who wished him success “as he works to form a new government free of terrorism and capable of achieving a brighter future for Iraq.”
Alhurra obtained information from Iraqi political and government sources on Monday indicating that there are efforts by Shiite parties to restrict weapons of armed factions to state control, in an attempt to address increasing U.S. pressure on Baghdad related to dismantling weapons held by Iran-aligned factions.
According to the same sources, these efforts aim to establish a mechanism to end the weapons of armed factions through a tripartite committee comprising prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, who maintains close relations with leaders of armed factions within the Popular Mobilization Forces.
According to the information, the committee’s tasks are not limited to the faction file alone but also include organizing the status of the Popular Mobilization Forces and institutionalizing them within the framework of the state, along with preparing a comprehensive vision for all types of weapons outside official control.
Washington has three tracks in Iraq. The first lies in excluding factions from power, as it refuses to deal with any government that includes figures linked to armed factions, whether these figures are political or even within technocratic fronts. This was reflected in a message recently sent by the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, Joshua Harris, to leaders of Shiite political forces, according to a Coordination Framework leader who spoke to Alhurra last week.
The second track relates to the financial aspect, as the U.S. administration links the flow of dollars to the Iraqi central bank and the stability of the banking system to the government’s seriousness in reducing the influence of factions and dismantling their military wings.
The third track is direct security pressure, through allocating financial rewards for the capture of prominent faction leaders, placing the government before a complex test in how to deal with these figures.
Over the past two weeks, the United States has allocated financial rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the capture of prominent militia leaders in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada leader Abu Alaa al-Walai, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya leader Haider al-Gharawi, and Harakat al-Nujaba leader Akram al-Kaabi. All of these individuals and their affiliated factions are designated on U.S. terrorism lists.
It is noteworthy that al-Walai and al-Gharawi have political wings within the Coordination Framework, in addition to Asaib Ahl al-Haq, led by Qais al-Khazali, which is designated on U.S. terrorism lists and holds 28 seats in the Iraqi parliament.
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.
