{"id":2137,"date":"2026-07-29T15:09:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2137"},"modified":"2026-07-29T15:09:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:09:05","slug":"iraqs-balancing-act-is-only-getting-harder-as-the-war-between-the-us-and-iran-widens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2137","title":{"rendered":"Iraq\u2019s balancing act is only getting harder as the war between the US and Iran widens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BEIRUT (AP) \u2014 Strikes launched<\/span> by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia against Iran-allied fighters in Iraq have put Iraq\u2019s government in a delicate position \u2014 and not for the first time.<\/p>\n

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Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq has walked a tightrope between Washington and Tehran, seeking to avoid becoming a battleground for rival powers. The balancing act has only grown more fraught since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran<\/span> in February.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia had accused Iraqi armed groups of using drones to attack its oil facilities. The retaliatory strikes in Iraq hit bases of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a collection of armed groups close to Iran that are officially part of Iraq\u2019s security forces but often operate outside of state control. The groups have also attacked U.S. forces who are in Iraq at the invitation of the government. <\/p>\n

The Iraqi government has given non-state armed groups until the end of September to disarm, but some of the most powerful \u2014 and the closest to Iran \u2014 have said they have no intention of doing so.<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump<\/span> has been effusive in his praise<\/span> of Iraq\u2019s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, a political outsider and fellow businessman. But the Iraqi leader is likely to face mounting U.S. pressure to rein in the PMF, and confronting them directly could lead to internal unrest.<\/p>\n

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The Iran-backed groups have fought Islamic State extremists and the US<\/h2>\n

The PMF is a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups that joined in the fight against the Islamic State group after it seized large sections of Iraq in 2014. Some have roots in the Shiite insurgency that erupted after the 2003 invasion.<\/p>\n

During the war against IS, the PMF were allies of convenience with a U.S.-led international coalition battling the Sunni extremists. In 2016, Iraq designated the PMF as an \u201cindependent military formation\u201d within the armed forces, but many of the factions remain largely autonomous.<\/p>\n

Lahib Higel, an expert at the International Crisis Group, an international think tank, said that despite officially reporting to the Iraqi military command, most of the PMF brigades \u201chave kind of retained the same command structure as they had when they were their individual groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iraqi militias have launched regular attacks on U.S. military bases and diplomatic facilities as well as other sites, including energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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Saudi Arabia blamed the Iraqi groups for drone attacks<\/h2>\n

Saudi Arabia blamed Iran-backed Iraqi militias for launching drone attacks on Monday and Tuesday, some of which targeted petroleum facilities.<\/p>\n

The Iraqi armed groups have denied any role in the attacks. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, described the Saudi claims as \u201cfabrications\u201d and an \u201cattempt to justify their inability to respond to the painful Yemeni strikes that have targeted the heart of their infrastructure.\u201d <\/p>\n

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It implied that the attacks were carried out by Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi rebels<\/span>, who had themselves claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities.<\/p>\n

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Iraq\u2019s National Security Council condemned the U.S.-Saudi strikes, saying they had killed and injured \u201ca number of innocent people\u201d and undermined the Iraqi state. It said the strikes came while the Iraqi government was actively investigating and trying to address the Saudi and American concerns. It said Iraq remains committed to ensuring the withdrawal of U.S. forces and consolidating arms under state control.<\/p>\n

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