Iranian-affiliated militias in Iraq reportedly agree to halt attacks on Israel

The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar reported on Monday morning that pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have agreed to cease attacks against Israel and not interfere in affairs in Syria. 

According to al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, a senior official of the Iraqi Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba group said it reached an agreement during negotiations with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. 

The dialogue between the militia groups and the Iraqi government is taking place amid growing international pressure to disband the militias and transfer their weapons to government control.

“The agreement states that the resistance will cease military operations against the Israeli enemy as part of their support for the Gaza Strip, and remain silent about the political changes taking place in Syria,” al-Akhbar reported. 

A leader from the Iraqi "Al-Nujaba Movement” told al-Akhbar, "The factions decided not to intervene in Syrian affairs and will monitor the situation from afar, as well as wait to see the direction of the newly elected U.S. President, Donald Trump, and his policies toward the Middle East, specifically Iran.” 

The leader also stated, "The Islamic Republic of Iran gave us the freedom to decide regarding the Syrian scene and the control of the terrorist groups called Haya'at Tahrir al-Sham.” 

He expressed concern that continued action against Israel could destabilize the country, as happened with the regime of the deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

“There may be an intention to drag the country into a scenario worse than the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which could lead to the resurgence of terrorism in Iraq,” he stated. 

The group is a member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), a relatively new union of various Iran-backed terror groups in Iraq, including Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Al-Imam Ali. 

An official from the Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada militia said, “The factions’ operations against Israel were linked to the operations of the Lebanese Hezbollah, and when the ceasefire was reached in Lebanon, the operations of the Iraqi factions stopped, and there are also partners in Iraq who have an opinion and reservations about those operations, and they must be listened to.” 

Terrorist groups under the Islamic Resistance umbrella have reported sporadic drone attacks against Israel throughout the past year in support of the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. The groups announced their continued support for Hamas despite the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and warned the Iraqi government against pressuring them to stop their attacks on Israel. 

Over the past year, the militias have targeted U.S. forces in Iraq as part of a broader effort to expel American presence from the country.

Meanwhile, intelligence reports indicating that Iran might use the militias to target Israel prompted the U.S. to caution the Iraqi government. The U.S. warned that continued attacks on Israel originating from Iraqi territory could provoke direct Israeli strikes on Iraq, similar to Israel's targeting of key infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.