US said to warn Iraq that Israel will strike militias that seek to aid Hezbollah

US envoy Tom Barrack reportedly warned Iraq’s leader on Sunday that Israel could carry out strikes on militias in Iraq if they seek to aid Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.

Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy on Syria, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad.

In a statement, Sudani’s office said the pair discussed “preventing any further escalation in the region,” and that Barrack stressed Iraq’s “constructive and essential role” in such a goal.

The state-owned Saudi Al-Hadath TV network reported Monday that Barrack warned Iraq of a “harsh Israeli strike,” if Iraqi factions seek to intervene in support of Hezbollah.

Citing sources, the station said Barrack told Baghdad that Israel’s operations in Lebanon will “continue until Hezbollah is disarmed.”

According to The New Arab news outlet — citing its Arabic-language sister site — Barrack warned Sudani to stop Iraqi groups from providing Hezbollah with military and financial support.

Citing an Iraqi source, the website said Barrack’s visit to Baghdad was designed to pass on the Trump administration’s positions on the current situation in both Syria and Lebanon.

“The Americans don’t want Iraq to interfere in the affairs of Syria or Lebanon, specifically the armed factions allied with Iran,” the anonymous source told the news site.

Sudani won reelection last month in a national vote in Iraq, and now seeks to bring balance to a country in a region racked with turmoil.

Tensions between Israel and both Syria and Lebanon have ratcheted up over the past week. The IDF has intensified its strikes against Hezbollah targets, which it accuses of violating the ceasefire, including killing the group’s chief of staff in a rare strike on Beirut last week.

In Syria, IDF soldiers engaged in a rare gunfight with gunmen in southern Syria on Friday during an arrest operation Israel said it carried out due to intelligence warning of imminent attacks.

Over the past two years, as Israel fought wars on numerous fronts, it held back from any strikes on forces in Iraq — even as militias there fired drones at Israel — likely due to the heavy presence of US forces in the country.

Iraq seeks to maintain a delicate balance between its allies, Iran, and the US, even more so now that the Middle East is undergoing seismic changes, with new alliances forming and old powers weakening.

Even as its influence wanes, Iran hopes to preserve its power in Iraq — challenging the US with powerful Tehran-backed armed groups, and keeping the Iraqi market open to products from its crippled economy. Washington, which holds much sway in Iraq and has forces deployed there, conversely hopes to cripple Iran’s influence, and has been pressuring Baghdad to disarm the pro-Iran groups.

US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he is seeking a de-escalation across the region, pushing Israel to move ahead with the Gaza ceasefire and reach a deal with Damascus, and pressuring Beirut to rapidly disarm Hezbollah in order to stabilize the shaky truce there. Trump warned Israel on Monday not to “interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous state.”

AFP contributed to this report.