by Seth J. Frantzman
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is suspected of funding and aiding non-state militias responsible for multiple violent attacks and raids in Iraq.
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The US Department of State designated four Iraqi militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) on September 17.
The four groups include Iranian-backed militias Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali. All of these groups were previously designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).
The statement also accuses Iran of supporting and enabling these groups to “carry out attacks across Iraq.” This adds to a growing list of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq that have been designated or sanctioned by the US. This raises a question about how effective these designations are and also what may come next. The designation is in line with the February 2025 memorandum by US President Donald Trump to have maximum pressure on Iran.
The US has established a number of lists of designated and sanctioned groups
For instance, in relation to Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the State Department continually monitors the activities of terrorist groups active around the world to identify potential targets for designation,” the State Department notes.
The US Department of Treasury maintains a list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list which it calls the SDN List.
There are also other sanctions administered by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control or OFAC. “As part of its enforcement efforts, OFAC publishes a list of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries.
It also lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. Collectively, such individuals and companies are called ‘Specially Designated Nationals’ or ‘SDNs.’ Their assets are blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them,” the Department of Treasury notes.
The US also has a list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). These groups are designated pursuant to the authority of US Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These groups or people have property and interests blocked pursuant to US law which is rooted in the 2001 order. Transactions with them are also prohibited and these groups are sanctioned by the US State Department and Treasury. The SDN list includes thousands of listings whereas the FTO list is much smaller at less than 100.
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are a unique type of group.
Today, they fall under the umbrella of the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces.The PMF was founded after a fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in 2014, calling on Iraqis to mobilize against ISIS. Many of those who formed militias to fight ISIS were Shi’ites. Many of these Shi’ites also organized under banners of militias that already existed or had ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The IRGC’s Quds Force, led by Qasem Soleimani, was closely involved in backing the PMF. The ranks of the PMF militias swelled to over 100,000 fighters. They also entered Syria to fight ISIS and then formed a corridor of Iran-backed units stretching from Iran via Baghdad to Albukamal in Syria and then to Lebanon, where they linked up with Hezbollah. Hezbollah was the model for these groups, as was the IRGC.
In 2018, after the defeat of ISIS, the PMF became an official paramilitary force of Iraq, and its salaries flow through government offices. It has close ties to the Iraqi Interior Ministry. This is in part due to the presence of Badr Corps members who infiltrated Iraqi institutions over the last two decades. They also infiltrated the Federal Police, thus forming a nexus of Iranian-backed power.
Iranian-backed groups in Iraq have killed Americans for decades. The PMF groups have targeted the US increasingly since 2019, and they have targeted the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as being involved in drone attacks and also the kidnapping and murder of people.
Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton researcher, was kidnapped in March 2023 by Kataib Hezbollah. An Israeli and Russian citizen, she was released earlier this month after 900 days of captivity, after the Trump administration worked to free her. Kataib Hezbollah, which kidnapped her, has had all the US sanctions thrown at it, including being on the SDN, SDGT and FTO lists. Trump ordered a drone strike that killed IRGC commander Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of KH in January 2020.
What about the other militias?
Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, which was added to the FTO this week, has been an SDGT since 2023 and on the SDN list since the same year. It maintains a brigade within the PMF and is close to Hezbollah, the former Assad regime and Badr. Badr has a dozen brigades in the PMF and is the largest of the militias. It is also the oldest with close ties to Iran for decades. It has been sanctioned by the UAE but not the US.Asaib Ahl al-Haq, whose leader threatened to work with Iran and Hezbollah to attack Israel, has several brigades in the PMF and is on the SDGT, SDN and FTO lists. Kata’ib al-Imam Ali, which was added to the FTO list this week, is also on the SDN and SDGT lists. Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, which was also added to the FTO list this week, is already on the SDGT list. Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, which was also sanctioned this week, is on the SDGT list.
The designations of these groups has taken time. Asaib Ahl al-Haq was designated an FTO in 2020. Kataib Hezbollah was named a FTO back in 2009. Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba was named an SDGT in 2019 and members of AAH were designated individually in 2020. Although there are dozens of brigades within the PMF, it does appear that the US has now sanctioned most of the larger and dangerous groups under multiple layers of designations.
There are likely two schools of thought on sanctions
One argues that you don’t sanction everything because you want to increase pressure and incentivize change. Thus, one wouldn’t sanction the whole PMF, or groups like Badr, because the theory is that one wants to be able to work with Iraq. Iraq’s government is deeply entwined with the PMF. If one wants to untangle it, then it’s better to sanction the PMF piece by piece and encourage the government to distance itself from the bad pieces. However, this approach has not been effective over the last two decades, since sanctions have been applied to these groups.Another argument would say that all these groups should be sanctioned and that would bring the hammer down on Baghdad and stop the appeasement. Then, Baghdad might change course. However, if you sanction everything, then you can’t add to the sanctions.
All one can do then is start doing military operations. In the past sanctions have enabled military strikes on these groups. It remains to be seen if the new FTO designations will change the behavior of Baghdad or Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali.
Esther Davis and Leo Feierberg Better contributed to this report.
Seth J. Frantzman
Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-867990
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