ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - American Congressman Joe Wilson on Wednesday said Congress is “ready to back up” US President Donald Trump with new provisions in the latest draft of the country’s defense bill, which conditions Washington’s financial aid to Iraq on Baghdad taking steps to reduce the capabilities of “Iran-aligned militias.”
In a post on X, Wilson wrote, “Congress is ready to back up President Trump with new provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA] that condition aid to Iraq’s security forces - for the first time ever - on Iraq taking real steps to stop supporting Iran-backed militias.”
The draft NDAA stipulates that no more than 75 percent of the funds authorized by the Act for Iraqi security forces may be spent until the US defense secretary certifies to Congress that the Baghdad government “has taken credible steps … to reduce the operational capacity of Iran-aligned militias not integrated into the security forces through a publicly verifiable disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process.”
Wilson added, “I appreciate the leadership of President Trump and his Special Envoy for Iraq, Mark Savaya, who has declared that he wants to ‘Make Iraq Great Again’ and made clear to Iraq that business as usual in supporting Iran-backed militias will not be tolerated.”
“The time has come to free Iraq from Iran,” the Republican representative stressed.
Wilson’s remarks come after Trump told Rudaw last week that Iraq “was being bullied” by Iran.
“Iran has gone down many, many steps in terms of its fear factor. They were the bully of the Middle East, and they're really not the bully of the Middle East anymore,” the US president stated.
“Iraq has been much different in terms of us than they were prior to us taking out the nuclear capability of Iran,” he added.
Meanwhile, Savaya told Rudaw in late November that “big changes are coming to Iraq,” adding, “Everyone will see actions, not words.”
The Chaldean entrepreneur of Iraqi descent has, since his appointment as special envoy in late October, been a vocal advocate for an Iraq “free from foreign-backed militias.”
In his inaugural statement, he said the US administration “has made it clear that there is no place for armed groups operating outside the authority of the state,” adding that “Iraq’s stability and prosperity depend on having unified security forces under the command of a single government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.”
More recently, following a double-drone attack on the strategic Khor Mor gas field in eastern Sulaimani province in late November, Savaya accused “armed groups operating illegally and driven by hostile foreign agendas” of carrying out the assault.
“Let it be unequivocal: there is no place for such armed groups in a fully sovereign Iraq,” he reiterated.
Of note, the head of the influential Iran-aligned Shiite armed group Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba launched a verbal attack on Savaya last week, accusing him of being a “traitor” to his ancestral homeland and of “blatant” interference in Iraq’s internal affairs. Akram al-Kaabi further threatened to silence Savaya, warning that he would be “fed with a stone.”
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba is considered a key pillar of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) umbrella organization, alongside two other Iran-aligned armed groups: Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada. The IRI also includes the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali armed groups.
The IRI emerged after the outbreak of the Gaza War in October 2023, and has claimed responsibility for numerous missile and drone attacks targeting Israel since. It is closely linked to the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” as well as armed groups previously tied to attacks on US assets in the region.
Wilson on Wednesday said Iraq “is coming under the total control” of Tehran, which he claimed “runs its military and security forces,” including “a number of [Specially] Designated [Global] Terrorist [SDGT] organizations,” naming Kata’ib Hezbollah, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali.
The Republican congressman also took aim at the Badr Organization, the Iraqi political group led by Hadi al-Ameri - widely regarded as Iran’s oldest ally in Iraq - alleging that it “completely overruns” the Iraqi police. Notably, the NDAA fully prohibits any aid to the Badr Organization.
The latest NDAA draft also calls for strengthening the Iraqi prime minister’s authority as commander-in-chief of armed forces and ensuring accountability for Iran-aligned armed groups and any security forces operating outside the formal chain of command.
It further notes that those involved in attacks on US or Iraqi personnel, or in other illegal or destabilizing acts, must be investigated.
The amendment also allows the US defense secretary to waive the funding restrictions for up to 180 days if it is deemed “in the national security interest of the United States.”
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