US lists 4 Iran-backed Iraqi militias as foreign terrorist organizations
Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited the militias' repeated attacks on US and coalition forces across Iraq.
WASHINGTON — The United States has designated four Iraqi militia groups as foreign terrorist organizations, stepping up pressure on Iran-backed militants accused of targeting American forces in the Middle East.
The blacklisted groups — Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kataib al-Imam Ali — were previously listed as specially designated global terrorists.
Their new classification carries harsher sanctions and criminal penalties for anyone providing them with “material support.” The US government had already listed other Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthis and the Iraq-based Kataib Hezbollah, as foreign terrorist organizations.
“As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran continues to provide support that enables these militias to plan, facilitate or directly carry out attacks across Iraq,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Iran-aligned militia groups have conducted attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad and bases hosting US and coalition forces, typically using front names or proxy groups to obfuscate their involvement,” Rubio said.
The State Department said all four groups have publicly threatened or carried out attacks on US interests in the region. Among them, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya was involved in the January 2024 drone attack that killed three US service members at a remote outpost in Jordan called Tower 22.
Rubio said the designations are in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order in February to impose "maximum economic pressure" on Iran. On Tuesday, the Treasury Department unveiled sanctions targeting a network operating out of the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong that allegedly facilitated the sale of Iranian oil to help fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Ministry of Defense.
The pressure on Tehran comes a week before Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to deliver remarks at the United Nations General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders. Looming over his speech will be the possible return of UN sanctions following the determination of the United Kingdom, France and Germany that Iran is in major violation of the 2015 nuclear deal.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, warned in a statement on Wednesday that “the window for finding a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear issue is closing really fast.”
