Iranian Quds Force leader claims US withdrawal enables militia growth in Iraq

Following the official conclusion of the US-led anti-ISIS operation in Iraq, Quds Force Brigadier General Esmail Qaani asserted that the United States’ departure paves the way for Tehran-backed militias to play a more prominent part in Iraq’s future. He credited the Iraqi nation’s “Resistance Front” for expelling the foreign force and warned that the militias would continue to operate with prudence and strategic planning.

Although the Iraqi government had linked the disarmament deadline to the September 30 pullout, it has now been postponed to June of the following year. Kataib Hezbollah, a key Iran-aligned group, rejected claims of a disarmament deal with Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi shortly after the US exit. Qaani urged coordination among the government, state institutions, and “children of the resistance” to advance Iraq’s sovereignty, and called for a broader regional defence belt stretching from Afghanistan to Yemen. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hailed the withdrawal as a step toward ending foreign domination in West Asia.