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US sanctions top Iraqi faction leaders
Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Nasser al-Shammari, Deputy Secretary-General of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN), as well as two other Iran-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups—Kataib al-Imam Ali and Kataib Ruh Allah Isa Ibn Maryam—as part of an ongoing campaign to curb destabilizing activities linked to Tehran's regional network.
The sanctions, issued by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), will freeze any assets the designated individuals and entities hold under US jurisdiction and generally prohibit Americans from engaging in financial transactions with them.
According to the Treasury, the sanctions aim to disrupt the financial and operational capabilities of these factions, which have been involved in attacks on US forces and continue to operate outside the control of the Iraqi state.
Al-Shammari, a senior figure in HHN—a US-designated terrorist group and prominent member of the so-called "Axis of Resistance"—joins a list of sanctioned individuals already including the group's leader, Akram al-Kaabi. HHN has been accused of direct involvement in targeting US personnel in Iraq and Syria.
The move also extends to Kataib al-Imam Ali, an armed group closely tied to Lebanese Hezbollah, and its offshoot, Kataib Ruh Allah Isa Ibn Maryam. Both groups have played roles in Syria and Iraq, with the latter notable for recruiting Christian fighters, particularly from the Syriac and Assyrian communities, according to the Washington Institute.
US Congressman Joe Wilson welcomed the sanctions, but called for further steps—urging the Trump administration to add the Badr Organization to the sanctions list. Wilson described Badr as sharing 'the same DNA' with other sanctioned groups and warned of its entrenched influence in Iraq's political and security landscape.
The Badr Organization is one of the most established Iran-backed factions in Iraq. Although it operates under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Badr also holds significant political power in the Iraqi parliament and government. Despite its longstanding ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), it has so far avoided direct US sanctions.
