The Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Friday on growing American pressure to dismantle Shiite militias in Iraq.
According to the report, it appears the US is not satisfied with anything less than the complete dismantlement of Hashd al-Shaabi (the militia umbrella organization), and cancellation of any role they have in the state's security system.
The newspaper wrote that Iraqi authorities have offered a series of concessions in recent months – starting from pressure to halt the "Hashd al-Shaabi" law, which establishes the militias' status by making them one of the security mechanisms, through increasing pressure on the militias so they would accept integration that would "cancel their power component," and up to pushing for the release of Israeli hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov "without anyting in exchange," according to the report.
On Thursday, the US announcement about designating four additional militias as foreign terrorist organizations was noted. The organizations in question are "Al-Nujaba," "Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada," "Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya," and "Kataib Imam Ali." The move allows the American administration to further isolate those organizations economically. Two militias already defined as terrorist organizations were also mentioned – Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
All these organizations are members of the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," which, according to the report, carried out hundreds of launches toward Israel and the US since the start of the war in October 2023.
