US Senator Joe Wilson calls for cutting Iraq funding over Iran-backed militias targeting Kurdistan Region

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Iran’s destabilizing influence in Lebanon, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East has been weakened, its proxies in Iraq remain active, particularly the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). These Iran-backed militias frequently launch attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), targeting critical infrastructure and posing ongoing security challenges.

The PMF, despite its strong ties to Iran, holds legal status as an official force within the Iraqi Army, sanctioned by Baghdad’s central government. This arrangement has drawn sharp criticism from US Senator Joe Wilson (R-SC), who recently met with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Foreign Minister Safeen Dizayee to discuss the situation.

I was grateful on Friday to speak to my dear friend the Foreign Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.

Iranian militias launch more drones today against our appreciated friends in the KRG. Sadly taxpayer dollars fund Baghdad which fund terrorist militias which…

— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) July 28, 2025

“Iranian militias launch more drones today against our appreciated friends in the KRG. Sadly, taxpayer dollars fund Baghdad, which in turn funds terrorist militias that attack the KRG, as well as U.S. troops, and work with the head of the snake, Iran, to destabilize Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen,” Wilson wrote on X, calling the situation unacceptable.

“I will work toward a prohibition on funding to Iraq while it continues to finance these terrorist militias, and I will push to have them rightfully designated as terrorist organizations,” he added.

Iran-backed PMF factions, including the Babylon Brigade led by Rayan al-Kildani, have also seized large parts of historically Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian territory in Nineveh Plains under the pretext of providing protection.