The most recent attacks by the militias targeted Saudi Arabia and the Kurdistan Region, while it also appears that they may have targeted Syria, as evidenced by anti-aircraft fire seen in Syria overnight. It is clear from these attacks that Iran is attempting to operationalize its militias in Iraq.<\/p>\n
To understand this, we must understand the background of the militias. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq emerged largely from Shi\u2019ite armed groups that fought US and coalition troops after the 2003 invasion. Some, such as Badr, have origins going back to the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Some of the leaders, such as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, were involved in terrorist plots in Kuwait in the 1980s. He later rose to command Iraq\u2019s Kataib Hezbollah and was killed in a US drone strike in 2020 alongside IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.<\/p>\n
Youths ride vehicles while waving flags of Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Hezbollah in Baghdad on June 15, 2026, during celebrations following the announcement of a deal to end the war between Iran and the US. (credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE \/ AFP via Getty Images)How Iran built its Iraqi militia network<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s IRGC Quds Force provided funding, weapons, training, and other support to these militias. Asa\u2019ib Ahl al-Haq grew out of links to the Mahdi Army, while Kataib Hezbollah emerged around 2006.<\/p>\n
After ISIS captured large areas of Iraq in 2014, many Shi\u2019ite militias mobilized under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces. Although the PMF was subsequently incorporated into Iraq\u2019s security structure, many factions retained close relationships with Tehran and developed significant political, economic, and IRGC influence.<\/p>\n
The US identifies several major Iran-backed Iraqi militias as both Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, including Kataib Hezbollah, Asa\u2019ib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat al-Nujaba, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.<\/p>\n
It is not known which groups carried out the Monday and Tuesday attacks. Kataib Hezbollah has usually been behind sophisticated or long-range drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. It also sent militia members into Syria during the Syrian civil war, establishing a headquarters in Albukamal. Its members left Syria when the Assad regime fell. Its leader, Qais Khazali, even went to Lebanon in 2017 and threatened Israel.<\/p>\n
These groups, which are close to Hezbollah, appear to threaten Syria now that it is seen as being closer to the US and pressuring the Lebanese terrorist group. This can be seen in Syrian authorities stopping arms smuggling to Hezbollah through the country\u2019s territory.<\/p>\n
Iran claimed to target an area near Tanf in Syria<\/a>, the site of a former US garrison that was established to support Syrian rebel groups fighting ISIS and was closed in February. Kataib Hezbollah also targeted Tower 22 in Jordan<\/a>, killing three Americans in January 2024.<\/p>\n It is possible that Iran is now seeking to use the militias in Iraq for new rounds of threats against Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and possibly Israel or US troops, something the militias have already done in the past.<\/p>\n