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The US Must Reduce Iranian Influence in Iraq
Members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran on Sep. 22, 2010. Photo: Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl/File photo
A significant part of the Iranian regime’s strategy is to exert overriding influence over Iraq’s politics, economy, and military.
This provides Iran with a land corridor to Syria and the broader Levant, allowing it to spread its revolution, sow chaos, and undermine regional American allies and partners. The US must counter Iran’s nefarious influence in every way possible.
The Iranian-Iraqi border is some 1,000 miles long, which guarantees some level of Iranian influence. The two countries are both majority Shiite countries, even though Shiites represent approximately 15% of the world’s Muslims, the vast majority of whom are Sunnis.
The two countries share significant economic ties. Iraq is the second-largest importer of Iranian goods, after China. Iraq relies heavily on Iran for natural gas and electricity. Iran’s influence in Iraq is considerable. Numerous Iraqi political parties have ties with Iran.
Iran also arms and funds militias in Iraq, which came to be collectively known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in 2014.
Several of the PMF’s constituent groups have pledged loyalty to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei.
Some of the militias, such as Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, carried out deadly attacks against US and coalition forces during the Iraq War.
The PMF’s main purpose is to facilitate Iranian dominance over Iraq and to expel US forces from the country; there are some 2,000 serving there in an advisory capacity.
The Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF), an umbrella group of Shiite Iraqi political parties, is backed by Iran. In 2022, the body nominated Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as its candidate for prime minister. Sudani successfully formed a government in October 2022.
According to an analysis by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “the formation of a new government by Sudani can only be regarded as a major victory for Iran … [T]he new government is a fresh start for Iran to continue strengthening its regional agenda in Iraq and beyond.”
Iranian interference in internal Iraqi affairs was one of the causes of widespread anti-government protests that began in 2019. More than 600 people were killed, including many by Iran-backed militia snipers. Iranian obstruction was partially responsible for preventing the formation of a government after the 2021 parliamentary election.
KH, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, was formerly led by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed alongside former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
Soleimani was the spearhead for expanding Iran’s revolution throughout the Middle East. He was responsible for the deaths of some 600 Americans in Iraq.
Muhandis was Soleimani’s right-hand man.
KH has attacked American bases in Iraq over the years, including fatal strikes in December 2019 and March 2022.
KH praised Hamas’s October 7 massacre as “great victories” and declared, “Our missiles, drones, and special forces stand ready to direct qualitative strikes against the Americans in their bases and against their interests if it intervenes in this battle.”
Another Iranian proxy, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, boasted, “[A]ny direct American entrance into the conflict for the crumbling entity [Israel] will make all American positions in the region legitimate targets for the Axis of Resistance.”
Shortly after these pronouncements, Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria began launching drone attacks at American bases in those countries, during which dozens of US troops were injured. Overall, Iranian-backed Shiite militias have carried out more than 100 attacks on US soldiers in the region since October 7.
The US must act swiftly to push back against Iranian influence in Iraq. It can do so militarily, economically, and politically.
The US must increase military aid and advisory support to the Iraqi government to counterbalance Iranian-backed militias. While the Biden administration has struck militia targets in Syria and Iraq, these are not sufficient: the administration must appreciably intensify such targeted operations against Iranian proxies to reduce those groups’ operational capabilities.
The US should work to develop Iraqi oil and gas sectors independent of Iranian influence. As has previously been observed, it is preposterous that a country such as Iraq, rich with oil and gas resources, should be paying above-market rates for imported energy, but that is the current reality.
The US should also sanction the PMF’s Muhandis General Company, through which the PMF seeks to dominate the Iraqi economy.
Finally, the US should support pro-US political factions in Iraq through diplomatic engagement and economic aid. Iran and its proxies are not necessarily popular in Iraq, as the 2019 protests powerfully suggest. Extrajudicial oppression, corruption, and violence on the part of the militias do not help their image among Iraqis.
The Iranian regime is following a coherent strategy in the Middle East. The US must devise and implement a clear-cut strategy of its own in opposition.
Gregg Roman is director of the Middle East Forum and a former official in the Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
The post The US Must Reduce Iranian Influence in Iraq first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.