Washington has demanded that Iraq disarm and dismantle Shia resistance factions in the country, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported on 21 March.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued the demand to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during a phone call last Sunday,

The source stressed that “this issue is of special interest to the administration of [US] President Donald Trump.”

Sudani informed the US side that his government is working to address this issue through ongoing dialogue with the armed factions, known collectively as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), the source added.