ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-aligned armed factions, on Wednesday gave Baghdad a nine-day ultimatum to take "action," while vowing a response to the US-Saudi strike on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) bases that resulted in dozens of casualties.
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran-aligned militia groups of carrying out at least two attacks on its soil in recent days. In response, Riyadh, in coordination with the US, struck PMF bases across Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday. The IRI has previously denied involvement in the attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The IRI reiterated in a statement on Wednesday that it had not carried out the attacks on Saudi Arabia, warning that it will respond.
The group said it is granting Iraqi government bodies that have called on the resistance to disarm "a deadline extending no later than the 23rd of the month of Safar (August 7), to see what actions they will take."
The IRI said its response is coming but will wait until after the Arbaeen pilgrimage to ensure the safety of worshippers, stating that "our response to the American enemy is inevitably coming, and it may also strike its tools in Saudi Arabia whenever necessities dictate."
The Shiite Muslim Arbaeen pilgrimage marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the grandson of Prophet Mohammed, Imam Hussein, who died in a battle fought in Karbala in 680 AD.
The PMF said the US-Saudi strikes killed 20 people and injured 32 others across Baghdad, Kirkuk, Nineveh, Karbala, Diyala, Wasit, and Basra provinces, marking the first wide-scale attack on the PMF since the US and Iran entered a negotiation period following the war that started in late February.
The IRI emerged in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, overlapping at its core with the PMF and including Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
The umbrella group has sided with Tehran since late February, when the US and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran. As tensions between Washington and Tehran fluctuate, the group continues to attack US interests in the region.
In early April, the IRI claimed to have carried out more than 750 attacks against alleged US-linked assets in Iraq and the region since the start of the Iran war.
The attacks on the Iraqi armed group come as the Iraqi prime minister has promised to disarm the armed groups and restrict weapons to state control by September 30, coinciding with the scheduled withdrawal of US forces from the country.
While most of the armed groups operating under the PMF have responded to the prime minister's call, several powerful Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq - including Kata'ib Hezbollah, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and Harakat al-Nujaba - have refused to disarm.
RELATED: Iraq’s Iran-aligned factions condemn Saudi-US airstrikes on PMF bases
