Kataib Hezbollah

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq declare support for regime in case of war against US

Akram al-Kaabi, a leader of paramilitary forces in Iraq, verbally attacked Trump and his Iraq envoy, saying that repeated violations of sovereignty would not be tolerated.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite armed groups gather during a rally in solidarity with Iran's government in Tehran,near the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad,Iraq January 16, 2026.
Reported footage of Iranian security forces suppressing the Iranian protests

Kataib Hezbollah calls on supporters to prepare for conflict with Israel

The statement is the latest example of how Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are continuing to threaten Israel, the US, and the region.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Reported footage of Iranian security forces suppressing the Iranian protests

Kataib Hezbollah hires Iraqi militias to suppress protests in Iran, sources tell Media Line

As reports of Iraqi fighters in Iran circulate, flight patterns and eyewitness descriptions suggest an organized pipeline

|ByALI HUSSAIN/THE MEDIA LINE
A mourner attends the funeral of a commander from Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah armed group who was killed in what they called a "Zionist attack" in the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday, during a funeral in Baghdad, Iraq September 22, 2024.

Baghdad’s showdown with Iranian-backed militias could reshape Iraq’s future - analysis

Calls grow to disarm the militias in Iraq, but Kataib Hezbollah refuses to comply.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah threatens escalation if Blinken visits Baghdad

A senior leader of Kataib Hezbollah warned that Blinken, who they referred to as "son of a Jew," was not welcome in Iraq.

NOVEMBER 5, 2023ByTZVI JOFFRE
A member of Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces) holds a flag of Kataib Hezbollah militia group during a protest to condemn air strikes on their bases, outside the main gate of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019.

Iran-backed militia threatens UAE, Kuwait in response to Israel-Hamas war

Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have upped their threats against the US and Israel amid the ongoing war.

OCTOBER 24, 2023ByTZVI JOFFRE
Members of the 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, board a C-17 Globemaster III to forward deploy to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia in support of exercise Agile Lightning from Al Dhafra Air Base, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Reports of airstrikes in Syria at sensitive time for Iran axis - analysis

Iran wants to create instability and a power vacuum in eastern Syria and then to fill the vacuum

OCTOBER 3, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad attend a joint press conference, in Tehran, Iran July 31, 2023.

Israeli Jewish woman remains kidnapped in Iraq as Iraqi PM at UNGA 

Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped six months ago in Baghdad.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Iraq earlier this year by Iranian-backed terrorist group Kataib Hezbollah.