Iraqi resistance factions, who have launched numerous attacks on US army bases, carried out several joint operations against Israel with Yemen’s Ansarallah last year
News Desk - The Cradle
“Hegseth informed Sudani that any interference by Iraqi armed factions regarding the US targeting of the Houthis in Yemen would prompt Washington to launch a swift military response against those factions inside Iraq, and therefore they must be prevented from any interference, as happened previously in the wars in Lebanon and Gaza,” sources told the agency on 17 March.
“[Hegseth] stressed to Sudani the need to expedite … disarming the armed factions and work to dismantle them. He emphasized that this issue is of great interest to [US] President [Donald] Trump and his administration. Sudani confirmed that the government is working on this issue and is in dialogue with the armed parties to reach an agreement in this regard,” the sources added.
The warning came during a phone call between Hegseth and the Iraqi premier on Sunday.
An official Iraqi statement said the two discussed developments in the region, including Yemeni military operations and the situation in Syria. Hegseth said Washington will continue attacks on Yemen unless its maritime operations come to an end and that the US does not seek escalation.
Sudani stressed “Iraq’s commitment to protecting the global coalition’s advisors present in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government … to restricting the use of force to the [Iraqi] state and promoting internal stability.”
The Shafaq report comes after the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) targeted Washington’s aircraft carrier, the USS Harry Truman, twice in 24 hours in response to the deadly US–British attack against Yemen over the weekend.
According to an updated death toll, at least 51 were killed and 100 injured in the attack on Yemen.
During the genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip, Iraqi resistance factions launched numerous drone operations against Israel, and even carried out joint attacks with the YAF – which is merged with the Ansarallah resistance movement.
At the very start of the war, Iraqi factions also launched multiple rocket and drone attacks on US bases, but stopped after government pressure following the killing of three US soldiers in an attack on a base near the Jordan–Syria border in January 2024.
Washington has for years been pressuring Baghdad heavily to put an end to the presence of armed resistance groups in the country. US airstrikes targeted Iraqi resistance groups such as Kataib Hezbollah several times last year and the year before.
Baghdad has previously held talks with the factions about the issue of disarmament; yet the issue hinges mainly on the presence of the US military in Iraq and the groups’ insistence on a full withdrawal.
Talks between the US and Iraqi government on an end to the “combat role” of the international coalition led by Washington – which is meant to include some form of withdrawal – have continuously stalled.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has recently stepped up economic and diplomatic pressure on Iraq, demanding that it reduce its ties with Iran.
Trump revoked a US sanctions waiver allowing the Iraqi government to import electricity from Iran, a State Department spokesperson announced on 8 March.
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