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World
A US State Department spokesman warned that the United States will take all necessary measures to confront Iran's activities in Iraq, affirming that the Iraqi government's failure to rein in militias threatens relations between the two countries.
He told Fox News that Washington will not tolerate any attacks targeting its interests, noting that the continued political and financial support for some of these factions negatively affects bilateral cooperation.
This comes at a time when factions within Iraq's Coordination Framework agreed to nominate businessman Ali al-Zaidi to assume the position of prime minister.
Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report said Washington had halted security cooperation programs with the Iraqi army, and had also blocked a cash shipment estimated at approximately 500 million dollars from oil revenues heading to the Central Bank of Iraq from Federal Reserve accounts in New York.
In contrast, an Iraqi official affirmed that the relationship with the United States remains strategic, stressing the importance of joint cooperation in combating ISIS and that addressing the armed factions issue requires a gradual approach that preserves internal stability.
This comes amid escalating American pressure on Baghdad to curb Tehran-aligned militias.
The US State Department announced a new reward of up to 10 million dollars for information leading to the leader of the "Awfiya Allah" militia, Haider Mazhar, known as Haider al-Gharawi, in a new step in a growing American campaign targeting Iraqi armed faction leadership aligned with Iran.
The department said in a statement that al-Gharawi leads a group accused by Washington of attacking American diplomatic facilities and involvement in the killing of Iraqi civilians and American soldiers, adding in a message to the public: "Help us stop this terrorist… send a tip."
This reward comes days after Washington announced a similar 10 million dollar reward for information about Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Sarraj, known as Abu Ala al-Walai, leader of Sayyid al-Shuhada Battalions, and before that a same-value reward for Ahmad al-Hamidawi, leader of Hezbollah Brigades, after accusing him of directing attacks on American diplomatic facilities in March 2026.
