The United States has formally pressed Iraq's leadership to take "concrete actions" against Iran-backed militias, with a senior State Department official warning on 6 May that Washington wants "action, not words" — a pointed signal of deepening frustration over more than 600 attacks on American facilities in the region during a recent period of heightened conflict.

The Core Demand

The senior State Department official, speaking without attribution, made clear that Baghdad must move beyond rhetoric if it wants to stabilise its relationship with Washington. "I think that the Iraqi leaders, including the Prime Minister-designate, understand what the United States is looking for. We're looking for action, not words," the official said.

The official outlined specific steps that would demonstrate good faith: expelling armed militia groups from state institutions, cutting off their access to the Iraqi national budget, and ending salary payments to militia fighters. "Those are the type of concrete actions that would give us confidence and say that there's a new mindset," the official added.

A Blurry Line Between State and Militia

At the heart of Washington's concern is what officials describe as the deep institutional penetration of Iran-aligned armed groups within Iraq's government structures. "There is a very blurry line right now between the Iraqi state and these militias," the official said — a characterisation that reflects years of incremental militia entrenchment following the post-2003 security vacuum and the rise of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) after 2014.

The official accused specific elements within the Iraqi establishment of actively shielding these groups. "Certain elements of the Iraqi state have continued to provide political, financial and operational cover for these very terrorist militias," the official said. This is not the first time such allegations have been raised, but the directness of the language signals an escalation in Washington's tone toward Baghdad.

Scale of Attacks on US Personnel

The official underscored the severity of the security threat by citing a striking figure: "We experienced more than 600 attacks against US facilities in Iraq during the regional conflict." The remark contextualises Washington's urgency — the scale of these incidents, attributed to Iran-backed factions, has made the militia question a non-negotiable priority in bilateral talks.

This comes amid broader Middle East tensions that have drawn in multiple state and non-state actors, with Iran-linked groups operating across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen increasingly asserting themselves as a unified pressure front against US interests in the region.

What Washington Is Asking For

Beyond operational steps, the US official called for a clear political declaration from Baghdad. "It could start with a clear and unambiguous statement of policy that the terrorist militias are not part of the Iraqi state," the official said, acknowledging the complexity of disentangling decades-old political and financial relationships. "I'm not underestimating the severity of the challenge or what it would take to disentangle these relationships," the official conceded.

The remarks signal that US-Iraq relations remain at a critical juncture, with Washington evaluating both Baghdad's willingness and its institutional capacity to rein in armed factions that American officials formally designate as terrorist organisations. How the incoming Iraqi leadership responds is expected to shape the trajectory of bilateral ties in the months ahead.