ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s Ministry of Communications on Friday dismissed reported US fears of Iran being able to monitor Iraqi communications after the ministry awarded a fiber-optic cable contract to the Muhandis General Company, which has been sanctioned by Washington for its alleged links to Tehran.

The US Department of the Treasury in October announced the imposition of sanctions on the Muhandis General Company and three Iraqi bank executives, accusing them of laundering money for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed militias in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, in extension of the country’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran

“The Muhandis General Company is controlled by Popular Mobilization Commission Chief of Staff and U.S.-designated Kata’ib Hizballah leader Abd al-Aziz Malluh Mirjirash al Muhammadawi (Abu Fadak),” the US Treasury Department said in a statement. “Muhandis General Company, under the control of Kata’ib Hizballah, uses a sub-contracting method to divert funds from Iraqi government contracts.”

The American magazine The Atlantic recently reported that the contract with Muhandis could give Iran or its partners access to monitor civilian and government communications in Iraq, a claim the ministry strongly denied.

In a statement received by The New Region, the ministry said the report was inaccurate and that Muhandis Company is a government-owned firm affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and is thus legally permitted to bid on public tenders under Iraqi contracting regulations.

The ministry said the deal with al-Muhandis Company followed Government Contract Implementation Instructions No. 2. Invitations were also issued to companies under the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Ministry of Industry.

The contract covers maintenance of fiber-optic cable routes and the excavation and installation of additional pathways, the statement said.

According to the ministry, the work does not involve managing national telecommunications operations.

The equipment that runs Iraq’s fiber-optic network is operated exclusively by employees of the Ministry of Communications.

The ministry argued that criticism of the contract is part of a “systematic targeting” campaign by groups whose interests were harmed by the government’s anti-corruption efforts and long-term infrastructure plans.

It also urged media outlets to verify information with official sources, especially during what it described as election-season pressure and political bidding.