Washington wants ‘concrete actions’ on Iran from next Iraqi PM, says US official

The United States is looking for “concrete actions” by Iraq’s next prime minister to distance the state from pro-Iran militias before resuming financial shipments and security aid, a senior official says.

Iraq’s ruling coalition has put forward Ali al-Zaidi as the next leader and he quickly received a congratulatory call from US President Donald Trump, who had threatened to end all American support if former frontrunner Nouri al-Maliki took office.

But a senior US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says Zaidi must address the “blurry line” between pro-Iran militias in the Shia-majority country and the state.

Resuming full support “would start with expelling terrorist militias from any state institution, cutting off their support from the Iraqi budget (and) denying salary payments to these militia fighters,” the official says.

The official says US facilities in Iraq suffered more than 600 attacks after February 28, when the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran.

“I’m not underestimating the severity of the challenge or what it would take to disentangle these relationships. It could start with a clear and unambiguous statement of policy that the terrorist militias are not part of the Iraqi state,” the official says.