ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - A senior figure in Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework on Tuesday said the faction will continue efforts to pass two controversial bills related to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), despite strong opposition from the United States.

Amir al-Fayez, a senior member of the faction, told The New Region that the Framework agreed during a meeting on Monday that the PMF issue is an internal matter.

“We won’t allow outside forces to interfere or stop it,” he said.

Fayez added that some Iraqi political groups still object to the bills, noting that discussions would continue among the parties.

A proposed bill approved by the Council of Ministers in February includes the Service and Retirement Law for the PMF and aims to organize the Popular Mobilization Authority similarly to other state security and military agencies.

The PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi, was formed upon a call by Iraq’s top Shiite authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani soon after the Islamic State (ISIS) took over large swathes of territory in Iraq. The force has been officially incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces, enjoying similar privileges as the Iraqi army.

The US Department of State on Monday told The New Region that Washington opposes any legislation that is “inconsistent” with the US' bilateral security assistance and partnership with Iraq, referring to the PMF bill.

“The bill institutionalizes armed groups associated with terrorist entities and leaders, including some that have attacked US interests and killed US personnel. This is a deeply unhelpful step,” said a State Department spokesperson.

The PMF is widely regarded as having close ties with Iran, a long-standing adversary of the US in the Middle East. Groups affiliated with the PMF have time and again been accused of targeting US interests inside Iraq, especially after the US assassination of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 in Baghdad.