ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US State Department on Saturday told The New Region that Washington is in cooperation with partners in Iraq to ensure the disarmament of Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups, a day after the Kataib Hezbollah said they will not disarm.

 “The destabilizing malign activities of Iran-aligned militia groups undermine Iraq’s sovereignty, steal resources that belong to the Iraqi people, and work against Iraqi interests,” a State Department official told The New Region.

“The United States will continue to work with our Iraqi partners to ensure these terrorist militias are fully disarmed, dismantled, and disempowered,” the official added.

The official referenced an October phone call between US State Secretary Marco Rubio and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, where Rubio highlighted the “urgency” of disarming Iran-backed groups that “undermine Iraq's sovereignty, and threaten the lives and businesses of Americans and Iraqis.”

In an opinion article for The New York Post on Monday, Sudani argued that Iraqi armed groups are operating under state authority.

“While certain Iraqi factions hold ideological ties to Iran, we have ensured that their activities remain strictly within the bounds of state authority,” the premier wrote.

“Iraq is a fully sovereign state — independent in its decision-making and guided solely by its national interests. We maintain balanced and lawful relations with all nations,” Sudani said, adding that Iraq's current relationship with the US should be one of trade and partnership, as opposed to boots on the ground.

Abu Ali al-Askari, spokesperson for the Kataib Hezbollah, on Friday said the Shiites hold “full guardianship” over Iraq, emphasizing that the group’s weapons will never be surrendered or controlled by politicians.

 “This weapon is not governed by politicians’ standards… it will remain in the hands of the Shiites,” said Askari.

Washington has repeatedly called on Iraq to disarm Iran-backed factions, citing concerns over Iranian influence on Iraq’s official military apparatus and their targeting of US interests across the region.

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 groups in Iraq, including Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, in an extension of the country’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran.