U.S. State Department Designates Iraqi Shiite Factions As Terrorists
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday designated four Iraqi factions as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), citing their ties to Iran and involvement in attacks on American and coalition personnel in Iraq.
The groups include Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib Imam Ali. According to the State Department, the organizations have targeted U.S. Embassy facilities and coalition forces in Iraq.
Most countries in the world, including Russia and China, do not consider the PMF and its subsidiary factions as terrorist organizations. Experts have called their terrorist designation by the United States a "political statement" against Iranian influence.
Links to the Popular Mobilization Forces
Three of the groups — Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib Imam Ali — are officially part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a paramilitary umbrella under command of the Iraqi government. The PMF has played a central role in the fight against ISIS, but has been accused by Washington of operating as a conduit for Iranian influence.
All three factions sent fighters to Syria during the civil war to support President Bashar al-Assad, before withdrawing in 2024 after the collapse of his government.
Part of U.S. Pressure Campaign Against Iran
All four organizations had previously been designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). The State Department said the new FTO listings aim to intensify economic and political pressure on Iran by restricting financial flows to groups it describes as “terrorist proxies and partners.”