ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The head of an Iraqi Shiite militia group on Tuesday dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent threat against Iranian-backed groups as “worthless,” asserting the militias have the capability to harm Tel Aviv.

Abu Reza al-Anzi, head of the Jund al-Imam battalions within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), spoke in reference to Netanyahu's address at the UN General Assembly. Anzi told Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency that “the resistance currently has the ability to harm the Zionist regime, which is why Netanyahu is afraid and has threatened the Iraqi resistance groups.”

Netanyahu had boasted on Friday that Israel had “deterred Iran’s Shiite militias in Iraq” and explicitly warned their leaders that they “will also be gone” if they attack Israel. 

The threat came after the Israeli premier listed operations his government has orchestrated against regional foes in recent times, including the targeting of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s nuclear program.

Anzi dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as “worthless threats,” claiming that the Iraqi resistance “has developed its capabilities and rebuilt itself.”

He added that the resistance groups draw resolve from the southern Iraqi population's historical “zeal, determination, and jihad” against Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Friday rejected Netanyahu's rhetoric, stating that "the statements are rejected and unacceptable. An attack on any Iraqi is an attack on Iraq itself."

Security expert Saif Raad noted on Saturday that Netanyahu's comments suggest Iraqi factions are under constant threat and could be targeted at any time. He explained that Netanyahu links deterrence to fear, believing faction leaders now hesitate to launch attacks because of the threat of retaliation.

The US State Department in mid-September designated several prominent Iraqi PMF factions, namely, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kataib al-Imam Ali, as foreign terrorist organizations, accusing Iran of providing support that “enables these militias to plan, facilitate, or directly carry out attacks across Iraq.”