Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is facing mounting criticism over his government’s failure to stop pro-Iranian militias and the Islamic Republic of Iran from attacking American, French, Italian and Kurdish military personnel and facilities in Iraq.
On Saturday, the US embassy in Baghdad said all US citizens in Iraq should leave “immediately”. ‘Terrorist militias affiliated with Iran have attacked the International Zone in central Baghdad several times.”
The announcement came after a missile reportedly hit a helipad at the US embassy in Baghdad early Saturday.
US EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD TARGETED AS IRAN LAUNCHES ATTACKS IN OPERATION EPIC FURY
A billboard with a photo of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes, is seen along a street in Baghdad on March 9, 2026. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The statement added: “As Secretary Rubio has said, the Iraqi government must take all possible measures to protect U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities and ensure that militia groups cannot use Iraqi territory to threaten the United States or the region. This is in Iraq’s best interest,” the spokesperson noted. “We retain a range of options to protect our interests. We do not anticipate sanctions or sanctions measures.”
According to the official, “A lot of these leaders [from the PMF] are part of Al-Sudani’s government and his coalition.”
The representative added: “The Prime Minister has also issued several statements condemning such acts, describing them as terrorist activities, and has instructed the relevant authorities to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible.”
Al-Sudani raised eyebrows last week when he congratulated the Islamic Republic of Iran on the selection of its new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s assassinated second Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “We express our confidence in the ability of the new leadership in the Islamic Republic of Iran to manage this sensitive phase and continue to strengthen the unity of the Iranian people in facing the current challenges,” al-Sudani reportedly said.
When asked about the congratulatory statement to Khamenei, the Iraqi embassy official said: “This action falls within the scope of standard diplomatic practices carried out by many countries, including several Gulf countries. Iraq maintains diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, including Iran, while ensuring balanced relations with all its regional and international partners.”
IRANIAN PROXIES WAGE WAR AGAINST ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS, WHILE STRIKES IRAQ FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
A member of the Imam Ali Battalions, the armed wing of the Islamic Movement of Iraq – a faction that is a member of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) paramilitaries – holds up a photo of Iraqi PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (who was involved in a US drone strike in early 2020), as other group members gather with their flags during a gathering to mark the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations in Baghdad on April 5. 2024. (Murtaj Lateef/AFP via Getty Images)
Intensified attacks on the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region on Friday resulted in the death of a French soldier and injuries to six other people. According to France 24, the commander, Colonel François-Xavier de la Chesnais, said French soldier Arnaud Frion was killed by an Iranian-designed Shahed lethal drone.
Iraqi Kurdish news outlet Rudaw reported on Saturday that “the Kurdistan region was targeted by seven explosive-laden drones early Saturday, as Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq continue to attack the US consulate in Erbil and other military and civilian sites in the region.” Rudaw said Since the start of US Operation Epic Fury, the Kurdistan region has been the target of more than 300 drone and missile attacks, killing seven people and wounding 35.
The Kurdish official complained that al-Sudani’s government “is not serious about tackling militias because the militias are part of the government.” However, the official praised the US: “The Americans have been aggressively pursuing them with attacks on their country over the past week [PMF] positions.”
U.S. Embassy staff inspect damage caused by a bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Hadi Mizban/AP)
According to a report by the Long War Journal, “Airstrikes, likely carried out by the US as part of the US-Israeli operation against the Islamic Republic, have continued to target Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.” Neither the US nor Israel have commented on reports that they are attacking the PMF.
The PMF told the Iraqi News Agency that US forces have carried out 32 airstrikes on the PMF headquarters since February 28.
The Kurdish official urged the Trump administration to “demand that the Iraqi government stop funding and arming the PMF and focus on their banking system that funds the PMF.” The official continued: “We have shared information with the Iraqis and the Americans, who in turn have shared information with the Iraqi government.” Regarding the PMF’s terrorist activities, the official said: “Al-Sudani’s government has not been willing to confront them.”
TRUMP THREATENS TO END SUPPORT FOR IRAQ OVER AL-MALIKI’S COMEBACK BID TIED TO IRAN INFLUENCE
Supporters gather in Baghdad’s Sadr district with Iranian flags and posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after announcing that he was killed in US-Israeli attacks, on March 1, 2026 (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The official complained that al-Sudani’s government initiated a “handful of arrests last year, and they were released on bail and allowed to flee to Iran.” The Kurdish official said the KRG “provided the information to the Iraqi government about the perpetrators” who fled to the Islamic Republic.
An Iraqi official dismissed the reports of PMF terrorists, saying: “I’ve never heard of anything like that. I don’t think that’s true.”
The Kurdish official named two PMF groups as the most bellicose towards the US: Asaib Ahl al Haq (League of the Righteous) and Kataib Hezbollah. The Trump administration sanctioned Asaib Ahl al Haq in March 2024. The State Department said Asaib Ahl al Haq “and its leaders are violent proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and that the group is “extensively financed and trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force.”
The US government sanctioned Kataib Hezbollah in 2023. The Kurdish official also accused al-Sudani’s government of imposing an embargo on imported goods to Iraqi Kurdistan as a way “to take away our autonomy and everything we can build in thirty years.” The autonomous Kurdish government is widely seen as a robust pro-American ally.
Iranian-backed Shia fighter groups celebrate in the streets after the IRGC attack on Israel in Basra, Iraq, October 1, 2024. (Essam Al-Sudani/Reuters)
The Iraqi official denied the embargo, stating: “The Federal Government does not pursue a policy of ’embargo’ against the Kurdistan Region. The current measures are aimed at unifying the legal, customs and trade framework across all Iraqi borders, in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
“No country can afford conflicting internal trade and customs regimes, as this risks damaging the national economy as a whole. Our goal is a unified, fair economic framework that protects state revenues while respecting the specificities of the region, and we believe this can best be achieved through dialogue and cooperation.”
Smoke rises from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (Ali Jabar/AP Photo)
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He called for “the dismantling of the parent organization: the PMF itself. As long as the PMF exists, militias operating under its umbrella will continue to attack U.S. forces and regional targets.”
