US warns Iraq must act against Iran-backed militia attacks on American assets

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is facing mounting disapproval for his government’s inability to halt pro-Iranian militias and the Islamic Republic of Iran from attacking American, French, Italian and Kurdish subject unit and facilities successful Iraq.

On Saturday, the U.S. Embassy successful Baghdad said that each U.S. citizens successful Iraq should permission "immediately," arsenic "Iran-aligned violent militias person attacked the International Zone successful cardinal Baghdad connected aggregate occasions."

The announcement came aft a rocket reportedly struck a helipad wrong the U.S. Embassy successful Baghdad aboriginal Saturday.

Speaking connected background, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States powerfully condemns attacks by Iran and Iran-backed violent militias against U.S. diplomatic unit and facilities, civilian targets and vigor infrastructure successful Iraq, peculiarly successful the Iraqi Kurdistan Region."

US EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD TARGETED AS IRAN LAUNCHES ATTACKS DURING OPERATION EPIC FURY

A billboard featuring a photograph of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate person who was killed successful U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, is seen on a thoroughfare successful Baghdad connected March 9, 2026. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The connection added, "As Secretary Rubio has said, the Iraqi authorities indispensable instrumentality each imaginable measures to safeguard U.S. diplomatic unit and facilities and guarantee militia groups cannot usage Iraqi territory to endanger the United States oregon the region. Doing truthful is successful Iraq’s interest," the spokesperson noted, "We clasp a scope of options to support our interests. We bash not preview sanctions oregon authorisation actions."

A Kurdish official, speaking connected information of anonymity, told Fox News Digital that the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) successful Iraq "are paid and equipped by the Iraqi government.  They are connected the Iraqi payroll. This is not the archetypal clip they person fired connected the U.S., the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] and the vigor sector. These PMF person brazenly attacked U.S. subject bases."

According to the official, "Many of these leaders [from the PMF] are portion of al-Sudani’s authorities and his precise coalition."

In a connection to Fox News Digital connected Sunday, an authoritative for Iraq’s Embassy successful Washington D.C. flatly denied the allegations against al-Sudani. "We would similar to unequivocally corroborate that the allegations claiming the Prime Minister granted a ‘green light’ to immoderate equipped radical to people U.S. oregon Western interests are wholly false. The Iraqi authorities has repeatedly emphasized its steadfast rejection of immoderate attacks connected diplomatic missions oregon overseas interests."

The typical added, "The Prime Minister has besides issued respective statements condemning specified acts, describing them arsenic violent activities, and has directed the applicable authorities to prosecute those liable and bring them to justice."

Al-Sudani raised eyebrows past week erstwhile helium congratulated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s enactment of its caller Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the lad of the assassinated 2nd Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. "We explicit our assurance successful the quality of the caller enactment successful the Islamic Republic of Iran to negociate this delicate stage, and proceed to fortify the unity of the Iranian radical successful facing the existent challenges," al-Sudani reportedly said.

When asked astir the congratulatory connection to Khamenei, the Iraqi Embassy authoritative said, "This enactment falls wrong the scope of modular diplomatic practices carried retired by galore countries, including respective Gulf states. Iraq maintains diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, including Iran, portion simultaneously ensuring balanced relations with each its determination and planetary partners."

IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM

A subordinate of the Imam Ali Battalions, the equipped helping of the Islamic Movement of Iraq — a subordinate faction of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) paramilitaries — holds up a representation depicting Iraqi PMF commandant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (who was successful a US drone onslaught successful aboriginal 2020), arsenic different radical members stitchery with its flags during a rally to people yearly Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations successful Baghdad connected April 5, 2024. (Murtaj Lateef/AFP via Getty Images)

The intensified attacks connected the planetary anti-jihadi conjugation successful Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan portion connected Friday resulted successful the decease of a French worker and injuries to six different people. According to France 24, the commanding officer, Colonel Francois-Xavier de la Chesnais, said the French soldier, Arnaud Frion, was murdered by an Iranian-designed Shahed lethal drone.

The Iraqi Kurdish quality outlet Rudaw reported connected Saturday that the "Kurdistan Region was targeted with 7 explosive-laden drones aboriginal Saturday arsenic Iran and its proxy forces successful Iraq proceed to people the U.S. consulate successful Erbil and different subject and civilian sites successful the Region." Rudaw said since the commencement of U.S. Operation Epic Fury the Kurdistan country has been targeted with implicit 300 drone and rocket attacks, resulting successful the sidesplitting of 7 radical and 35 injured.  

The Kurdish authoritative complained that al-Sudani’s "government is not superior astir taking connected militias due to the fact that the militias are portion of the government." However, the authoritative praised the U.S. "The Americans are going aft them aggressively implicit the past week with attacks on their [PMF] positions."

U.S. embassy unit inspect harm caused by a bombing successful Baghdad, Iraq, connected Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Hadi Mizban/AP)

According to a Long War Journal report, "Airstrikes, apt conducted by the U.S. arsenic portion of the U.S.-Israeli cognition against the Islamic Republic, person continued targeting Iran-backed Iraqi militias." Neither the U.S. oregon Israel person not commented connected reports that they are striking the PMF.

Fox News Digital secured accusation successful aboriginal March from the Israeli Defense Forces that drones person bee fired astatine Israel from Iraqi territory since the commencement of the war. 

The PMF told the Iraqi News Agency that American subject forces person conducted 32 airstrikes against PMF office since February 28.

The Kurdish authoritative urged the Trump medication to "demand that Iraq’s authorities halt paying and arming the PMF and people their banking strategy that finances the PMF." The authoritative continued, "We person shared accusation with the Iraqis and the Americans, who person successful crook shared accusation with the Iraqi government." On the violent activities of the PMF the authoritative said, "The al-Sudani authorities has been unwilling to face them."

TRUMP THREATENS TO END IRAQ SUPPORT OVER AL-MALIKI COMEBACK BID TIED TO IRAN INFLUENCE

Supporters stitchery successful Baghdad’s Sadr territory holding Iranian flags and posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pursuing the announcement that helium was killed successful U.S.-Israeli attacks, connected March 1, 2026 (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The authoritative bemoaned that the al-Sudani authorities initiated a "handful of arrests past year, and they were released connected bail and were capable to fly to Iran." The Kurdish authoritative said the KRG "provided the accusation to the Iraqi authorities astir the perpetrators" who fled to the Islamic Republic.

An Iraqi authoritative dismissed the reports connected PMF terrorists, stating," I person not heard of specified a thing. I conjecture that's not true."

The Kurdish authoritative cited 2 PMF groups arsenic the astir bellicose toward the U.S.: Asaib Ahl al Haq (League of the Righteous) and Kataib Hezbollah. The Trump medication sanctioned  Asaib Ahl al Haq successful March 2024. The State Department said Asaib Ahl al Haq "and its leaders are convulsive proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and the radical "is extensively funded and trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force."

The U.S. authorities sanctioned Kataib Hezbollah successful 2023. The Kurdish authoritative besides charged the al-Sudani’s authorities with imposing an embargo connected imported goods to Iraqi Kurdistan arsenic mode "to portion distant our autonomy and everything we tin built implicit 30 years." The autonomous Kurdish authorities is wide considered a robust pro-American ally.

Iran-backed shi'ite groups fighters observe connected a street, aft the IRGC onslaught connected Israel, successful Basra, Iraq, October 1, 2024.  (Essam Al-sudani/Reuters)

The Iraqi authoritative denied the embargo, stating, "The national authorities does not prosecute a argumentation of ‘embargo’ against the Kurdistan Region. The existent measures purpose to unify the legal, customs, and commercialized model crossed each Iraqi borders successful enactment with the national constitution. 

"No state tin spend contradictory interior commercialized and customs regimes, arsenic this risks  harming the nationalist system arsenic a whole. Our nonsubjective is simply a unified, just economical model that protects authorities revenues portion respecting the region’s specificities, and we judge this is champion achieved done dialog and cooperation."

Smoke rises from the U.S. embassy gathering successful Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026.  (Ali Jabar/ AP Photo)

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Entifadh Qanbar, a erstwhile spokesperson for the lawman premier curate of Iraq, told Fox News Digital that "One could adjacent picture the PMF arsenic the Iraqi subdivision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, efficaciously functioning arsenic an Iraqi Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The PMF operates done a web of militias that often onslaught U.S. forces, overseas interests, and targets successful Kurdistan."

He argued for "The dismantling of the parent enactment — the PMF itself. As agelong arsenic the PMF exists, militias operating nether its umbrella volition proceed to onslaught U.S. forces and determination targets."

Fox News Digital newsman Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.