Sadly, Iraq has been subverted to be a puppet of the Iranian regime. The people of Iraq should be able to live in peace and prosperity.
President Donald Trump is working to achieve peace on behalf of the Iraqi people. I am grateful that two of my sons served in Iraq to also help achieve this goal.
Historically, this subversion can be traced back to President Obama and then-Iraq envoy Brett McGurk who propped up Iranian puppet Nouri Maliki as Iraq’s Prime Minister, even after he lost the 2010 elections. Maliki’s regime and his ruthless pursuit of political opponents led to the emergence of ISIS. In response, Obama and McGurk then worked with Iranian backed militias to defeat ISIS.
The results of Obama’s failed policy are now clear: Iran-backed militias control the Iraqi government. Gruesomely, the regime in Tehran oppresses the people of Iran – and now Iraq. Both countries should be free.
Qassim Al-Araji, Iraq’s national security adviser, was previously held by the U.S. at Bucca prison in 2007, and is also a senior leader in the Badr Corps, an Iran-backed militia.
Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, Chief of the General Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces, intentionally walked over a U.S. flag to show disrespect. He also referred to designated terrorist and Iraqi Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi Muhandis as “our brother, leader, supporter and backer.”
Iranian-backed militias, which answer to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, are formally and legally part of Iraq’s state security services as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which receives more than $3 billion a year from the Iraqi government, a government funded by U.S. taxpayers.
Since 2015, the U.S. Department of State has provided Iraq $1.25 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF), in addition to billions in other assistance provided by the U.S. government to Iraq’s Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the primary branch of the Iranian armed forces, called the PMF part of the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. PMF fighters include militias which fired rockets at U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.
Iran uses these militia groups to wield their influence in Iraq, intervening directly in the political process to ensure Iran-backed parties continue to dominate the Iraqi government, including overturning election results and even issuing a warrant for President Trump’s arrest in retaliation for taking out terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani.
As an example, Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) was involved in a fuel smuggling network that raked in $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies.
With the fall of the murderous Assad regime in Syria in December, and the weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraq has become Iran’s final lung to breathe malign influence in the Middle East.
It’s time to reverse these anti-American policies and free Iraq from Iran for good.
Thankfully, this fact has not been lost on President Trump who ordered his administration to find and sanction those involved in the Iraqi financial system as part of the maximum pressure campaign on Iran.
Not satisfied, President Trump also terminated a sanctions waiver that allowed Iraq to purchase electricity from Iran. This was a very good first step, but we must go further to prohibit Iraq from importing natural gas as well, which gives Iran billions of dollars annually.
Iran-backed militias funded, trained, and armed by the IRGC must all be designated as terrorist organizations.
These designations will allow law enforcement to prosecute those helping such organizations and allow American Gold Star Families who lost loved ones in Iraq to sue the militias and achieve justice.
President Trump has made it a clear priority to sanction banks involved in money laundering for Iran — and it should start with Al-Rafidain Bank which processes the payrolls for the militias of the PMF.
Sanctions should also go after politicians like Maliki, whose actions are key to facilitating Iran’s control of Iraq, as well as the entire network of corrupt associates and middlemen who work with Iran-backed militias.
As the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) looks for cost savings among foreign assistance, I encourage DOGE to cut non-humanitarian aid to Iraq as long as Iraq remains a puppet of Iran.
The Iraqi people do not want to be ruled by terrorists in Iran. They are speaking up and pushing back against the corrupt and authoritarian political class propped up with Iranian influence.
President Trump’s successful Maximum Pressure campaign brought the Iranian economy to the brink in his first term. Broadening the campaign to target Iranian puppets in Iraq will make Iran feel the heat even more for the benefit of the people of Iraq.
Through maximum pressure on Iran’s regime and proxies, Iraqis can once again be empowered to change their country’s direction for the better.
Free Iraq from Iran.
Joe Wilson is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving South Carolina’s 2nd District.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Comments