A major Iraqi terrorist group, allied with Iran, threatens Trump

A senior official of a major Islamic terrorist organization in Iraq has demanded that the United States fulfill a commitment to withdraw its troops from the country by the end of the year, amid rising tensions in the Middle East. The statement comes as the region faces a possible escalation of violence involving Iraq, Israel and US forces.

Firas al-Yasser, a member of the Political Council of the Nujaba Movement, a radical pro-Iranian Islamist organization, told Newsweek that "Trump is obligated to withdraw his forces from Iraq by the end of 2025, and they must abide by their pledges to the Iraqi government." He further warned that US forces will not be able to withstand "advanced and modern strikes of the resistance."

What is the Nujaba Movement?

The Nujaba Movement is part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of terrorist factions aligned with Iran that has engaged in attacks against US and Israeli targets. While offensives against US troops in Iraq had subsided since February 2024, recent tensions with Israel in the wake of the Jewish state's war against Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups following the October 7 massacre have reignited the conflict.

Yasser's statements come on the heels of a warning by Iraq's foreign minister Fuad Hussein about possible Israeli plans to attack the country.

Speaking to the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last December, Yasser Wattout a member of the Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee, said the United States and Israel warned Iraq that if attacks by terrorist groups did not stop, the Arab country could become embroiled in the Jewish state's conflict against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Huthis in Yemen.

The threats of the Nujaba Movement

From the Nujaba Movement they assure that they are prepared to respond in case the US or Israel carry out any attack on Iraqi territory.

"We do not rule out that America and Israel seek to escalate the situation in the region," Yasser stated, adding that the attacks against terrorist targets in Gaza, Yemen and the Syrian-Lebanese border confirm the intention to generate provocations.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) affirmed that it is prepared on all fronts but will not reveal its operational plans, Newsweek indicated.

History of conflict and pending withdrawal

Iraq has been the scene of conflict since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Subsequent instability facilitated the emergence of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the proliferation of Iranian-backed militias. The Nujaba Movement emerged in 2013 to support the Syrian government of Bashar al-Asad in its civil war and was later integrated into the Popular Mobilization Forces, which participated in the fight against ISIS.

In 2021, then-President Joe Biden announced the end of the US combat mission in Iraq, although 2,500 US troops remained in the country. In 2023, an agreement was reached between Washington and Baghdad to begin a phased withdrawal between 2025 and 2026. However, the Iraqi militia have expressed their distrust of Washington's promises.