ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made undermining the security of US assets and expelling them from the region a top priority for Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups, a senior commander of an influential faction, Kata’ib Hezbollah, threatened on Saturday.
Abu Ali al-Askari further noted the factions’ role in choosing Iraq’s next prime minister - an issue the US administration has repeatedly rejected, warning that such interference would jeopardize Washington’s ties with Baghdad.
In a statement on his official Telegram channel, a spokesperson for Kata’ib Hezbollah said that “the Americans must realize” that the killing of Khamenei “has opened the door to punishing them [Americans] and undermining their security - a mission the Iraqi resistance places at the top of its priorities, ultimately leading to their expulsion from the country [Iraq].”
He further added that the policies of Donald Trump, which Askari described as marked by “haste and a seek short-term gains, lack the endurance required for long wars of attrition, and will ultimately force him to adjust his malicious plans in search of alternative means to secure his interests.”
The remarks come as the Iran-Israel-US war entered its seventh day on Friday, with the US Central Command declaring on Saturday that its forces have struck over 3,000 targets in Operation Epic Fury against Iran. The Command added that approximately 43 Iranian ships were also damaged or destroyed.
For its part, Iran said Friday that it had launched more than 2,000 drones and over 600 missiles targeting US and Israeli positions as part of its multi‑front response - dubbed Operation True Promise 4 - to the ongoing campaign.
The Iranian response has also included strikes by groups aligned with the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, including the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, which on Monday attacked northern Israel, prompting a large-scale response from Tel Aviv. Moreover, shadowy Iran-linked groups have in recent days carried out attacks against alleged US targets in Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region.
On the political stage, Iraq held its legislative elections in November and has since seen politicking among winning parties to name the country’s next premier - a post traditionally reserved for the Shiites, while the presidency is kept for the Kurds and the speakership of the parliament for Sunni Arabs.
However, in recent weeks, the US President has openly vetoed a top candidate for the post, ex-premier Nouri al-Maliki (2006-2014), arguing that selecting the latter - who is seen as a prominent ally of Iran in Iraq - would undermine Washington-Baghdad ties.
The spokesperson for Kata’ib Hezbollah, Askari, said early Saturday that “the appointment of the next Iraqi prime minister will only occur after the Islamic Resistance has left its mark on the nomination, through a national decision free from the dictates of the American administration.”
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